Echoes
by euroteres
Summary: Sometimes you need a second chance to keep your precious people safe, even if you're not aware you've been given one. Having just become a Genin, Naruto believed he was ready for anything the world could throw at him. That was of course until the sudden appearance of the "other" within his mind, and the "echoes" of events, voices and emotions that came along with it.
1. Prologue: A Pebble Tossed Upstream

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its affiliated characters._

**Prologue: A Pebble Cast Upstream Creates Many Ripples**

_He stared into the woman's eyes. Two pale, emotionless eyes that reminded him of how Neji's had before the Chuunin exams, all those years ago, yet infinitely worse. Had it even been an hour since the young man had died saving his and Hinata's life? Who could have guessed that things would have fell to pieces so quickly, so uncontrollably? It seemed fitting that all he could think of at this moment were his regrets. Regret that he hadn't spent more time with the people he called his friends, his precious people, when he'd had the chance. Regret that he wouldn't be able to save them and spend that time with them after the fighting was over._

_He turned his attention towards the third eye on the woman's face. Blood red with multiple concentric rings echoing away from the pupil and nine tomoe dancing a symmetrical pattern along them. To think that a single eye could hold so much power, that a single eye could be used to erase the entire world's free will._

_His arms hung broken at his sides and blood oozed out of his mouth and down his chin while he hung suspended in midair by the woman's arm as she her hand clamped unyielding around his throat. In her sleeve a face out of a child's nightmare looked mockingly upon him. It would only be a few more seconds now before his chakra was completely drained and he was nothing more than a lifeless husk, the world's last hope dying with him. He had no more final gambits, no more last second plans, and he had a feeling that he'd cashed in his lifetime supply of acts of providence. He was well and truly defeated._

_He wearily turned his gaze down at Sasuke, the only other person in the world who might truly be considered alive at this point. Obito's, Kakashi's and Sakura's broken bodies already lay scattered across the battlefield and everyone else was trapped within the power of Infinite Tsukiyomi, and for more reasons than one that was an end far more terrifying than dying. _

_When his eyes finally found the Uchiha, he was surprised to see him gazing back at him with a look of intense concentration. It was an admirable feat considering the other man's body was just as, if not more, broken than his his._

_Sasuke flashed him a triumphant look as their eyes met and silently, the young man mouthed a few words that he couldn't mistake. _

'_It's all…on you now…usuratonkachi…'_

_Blood began to pool around and leak from Sasuke's Rin'negan eye before it suddenly and violently burst in a spectacular spray of blood just as the last of his own chakra was drained away. His vision faded away into darkness and he was consumed by the sensation of falling, falling…fal-_

* * *

><p>A twelve year old, blond haired boy, who had just a few nights before become a ninja, jolted awake into a sitting position. Images flashed through his mind, years of experiences flashing by so quickly that he could barely comprehend more than the simplest details before something new was being shown. Soon the images began to fade, like a dream one remembers for the briefest moments before truly waking up.<p>

The blond boy blinked in confusion, looking around the room as if he was unfamiliar with it before vigorously shaking his head and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. A frown crossed his face as he remembered the events of several nights ago before reversing into a large grin. He leaped out of bed and began to prepare for the day. Today was his first day as a ninja of Konoha.

* * *

><p>Deep within the confines of the blond boy's spirit a slumbering entity awoke, revealing a crimson eye with a black slit pupil. It lifted its head and looked around its confines before raising a hand to grip one of the bars and frowning. For the briefest moment it had sworn that those bars didn't belong, that it had had the room to stretch its legs.<p>

'_**Foolish dreams…'**_

It explained away the momentary ripple in its chakra as something to do with that odd tremor of emotion it had felt a short while ago before lowering its head to slumber once more.

* * *

><p>In a forgotten corner of Konoha, within the room of a long neglected shrine there was the sound of something clattering to the ground. The only occupants of the room were an array of horned, laughing demon masks, all of which rested undisturbed from their positions hanging along the wall.<p>

All of them but one.

Lying on the ground was a single mask with a long crack running down the length of its face.

* * *

><p>A black man with sunglasses twitched from his position underneath a waterfall as he felt a momentary shift in his partner's chakra.<p>

"Yo Hachibi, is something the matter? Your vast beastly chakra just went _pitter-patter_!"

There was a moment of silence, then a deep voice responded from within the man. _**'No…I don't think so at least. There was a ripple of some sort, but nothing noteworthy. Don't worry about it."**_

…

'_**Oh and Bee?'**_

"Hmm?"

'_**Your rapping still sucks.'**_

* * *

><p>'<em>Chōmei, are you ok? Did something happen?'<em>

'_**Nothing worth taking note of. Don't worry yourself about it Fū'**_

The young woman huffed and returned to aimlessly staring at the sky.

"_Booooorrrrrrrrrreeeddddd_"

* * *

><p>A brown haired man in a light blue yukata walked leisurely through a sparsely wooded forest. He froze for a moment before looking up at the sky.<p>

"Perhaps a change in destination might be in order."

* * *

><p>A massive man in distinctive red armor shifted in his seat as he felt the chakra of the demon within him ripple briefly.<p>

'_What was that Gobi?'_

Silence was his only answer.

* * *

><p>A middle aged, red haired man froze in his wanderings.<p>

'_Did something happen Yonbi?'_

'_**Maybe if you'd actually call me by my name I'd be willing to share.'**_

The man grunted and continued on his way.

* * *

><p>A young looking man jerked violently as he regained full awareness and control of his faculties for the first time in nearly a decade. Memories rushed back to him and he thanked any gods that might be that he was alone at that moment before grabbing a hooked cane from where it rested against his desk and heading for the window. He paused in the middle of unlatching the window, looking back at the room.<p>

'_I could stay. Try to…fix things. I owe it to my-NO! I can't let myself think that way. If I stay I'll simply make an easy target for that…_man _when he comes back to reinforce the genjutsu. The best I can do is make things easier on the rebels.'_

With that thought in mind, the man opened the window and leaped away into the night.

* * *

><p>'<em>What was that Nibi? Is something wrong?'<em>

'_**No…I don't believe so. Don't worry yourself about it. There isn't any change in my chakra.'**_

* * *

><p>"Sand Burial!"<p>

Blood soaked into the animated sand, not a single drop dripping onto the ground below.

"Are you pleased with this blood Mother?"

…

"Mother?"

He could still feel his mother's presence in his chakra, but for the first time in years she failed to cry out in jubilation at an offering of blood. For the first time in years, the voice that had broken his psyche to pieces, the only voice that gave him encouragement now, was silent.

* * *

><p>Deep within the hidden mountain reaches of the Land of Fire, a massive, elderly toad lifted his head, staring off into the distance at something no one but he could see.<p>

"Ohohoho, you clever, clever child…now all we can do is wait and see if your gamble has paid off. For all our sakes, I hope they can pull it off."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I've always been interested in Time Travel/Peggy Sue fics, but I've rarely seen one that doesn't automatically give the time traveler all of their knowledge of future events and the only stories I've really seen dance around that subject in the Naruto fandom are _Team 7: A Retelling_ and _Afterthoughts_, so I decided I wanted to play around with the idea. Here's to hoping you all enjoy it :D

Chapter 1 should be out within the next few days (**Ahahahaha, oh god that certainly didn't happen.**) and after that? Well I suppose that depends on school and such.

Posted 11.9.14

Edited 2.14.15


	2. 1: Of Echoes and the Other

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_

**Chapter One: Of _Echoes _and the _Other_**

Naruto burst out of the front door of his apartment with a half-finished cup of instant ramen in hand. He leaped to the roof and began making his way towards The Academy at record pace, eager to show everyone that the supposed _dead last _really was good enough to become a ninja. By some miracle of coordination, the ramen in hand was devoured without mishap and the remains were dropped in a random trash can along the way.

Minutes later he was rocketing into The Academy, barely paying attention to his surroundings in his rush. It was, perhaps, karma for the earlier miracle of coordination involving ramen that what happened next occurred at all.

"Gaahh!" As he was rocketing around a corner he collided head first with another person and went crashing down with them. He lay there for a moment, attempting to reorient himself before rolling off of the mystery person and sitting up. As his swirling vision cleared he turned to see who he had collided with and was met with a pair of pale, silvery-white, eyes without visible pupils.

"_I will never go back on my word, because that too is my nindo, my ninja way!"_

"_I no longer want to run away!"_

"_In my eyes you're a proud failure! When I look at you, I get an intense feeling in my heart. Because you are not perfect… Because you fail… you have the strength to get back up… Because I believe that's what true strength is…"_

"_I'm…just being selfish…"_

"_I used to always cry and give up… I made many wrong turns… But you… You helped me find the right path… I always chased after you… I wanted to catch up to you… I wanted to walk beside you all the time… I just wanted to be with you… You changed me! Your smile is what saved me! That is why I'm not afraid to die protecting you! Because… I love you…_

_"Remember what Neji said...'Naruto, your life is not just your own anymore'. Do you understand what that means? Your ideals... Your words... The desire to save every one of your comrades... Those are things worth fighting for! ...What inspired Neji and carried him this far...were those very principles! But it's not only you Naruto... Every one of us here has come to believe in those very words and that is why we fight in earnest to protect each other. That is why...we are family. If you were to throw in the towel now, Neji's sacrifice will have been in vain... Going back on your word...would truly kill your comrades! And it would result in us ceasing to be...a family... At least that's how I feel... That is why...now is the time to stand with me, Naruto-kun... Moving forward with your head high and not taking back any of your words... That is also my nindo!_"

'_Naruto-kun…'_

Naruto shook his head, attempting to clear away the odd haze his mind had been left in. _'Wha…what was that?' _The sound of Hinata's voice brought his attention back to the world around him.

"…aruto-kun. Naruto-kun? A-are you ok?"

Naruto blinked uncomprehendingly before his mind finally caught up with reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Nothing can keep me down dattebayo!"

Hinata giggled softly at his antics for a moment before clasping a hand to her mouth with a squeak and turning bright red. Naruto cocked his head in confusion before remembering what he had come to The Academy for. Bolting to his feet and yanking up Hinata before she could protest, he began to unceremoniously drag her down the hall.

"Crap! We'll be late for class!" he exclaimed.

"Um, Naruto-kun?" Naruto stopped his rapid dash down the halls and released the shy Hyūga girl, before turning around to face her.

"Yeah?"

"I...I don't mean to be rude, b-but why are you coming to class t-today?" Hinata pressed her forefingers together and her eyes began to dart around, looking anywhere but at his own. "T-today is the d-day we get team assignments, b-but you d-didn't pass the…" her eyes finally latched on to the leaf hitaite strapped around his forehead. "Y-you passed! But the test…h-how?"

Naruto nearly found himself giving an active retelling of the night he learned about the Kyūbi, before he stopped himself and grinned. Bringing his hands up into the irregular cross seal, he activated his newest jutsu, causing four shadow clones to pop into existence.

"You f-figured out the Clone Jutsu!" Hinata said, sounding excited.

Naruto's grin widened further, and one of the shadow clones took a step forward and poked Hinata on the nose. She jerked back and her face lit up bright red. Incoherent noises escaped her mouth as she attempted to wrap her mind around the dual shock of the clones being solid and the unexpected contact from Naruto.

The clones popped out of existence and Naruto's grin managed to widen even further. "Haha! Who needs regular clones when you can make shadow clones?"

"Th-that's amazing N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said, managing to regain her composure. "I'm glad th-that you passed. I'm sure you'll be a great shinobi." For a moment, her normally hesitant manner disappeared and Naruto was shocked by conviction in her soft voice.

"R-Really? You mean that? You're not just saying that to screw with me right?" Naruto's expression became guarded. The expression on Hinata's face had been so completely out of his perceived understanding of her character _'and yet there's something about it that fits' _that it had momentarily reminded him of how out of place the cruel look on Mizuki's face had looked as well.

"NO! I would _never_ do that to you!" Naruto was struck by the vehemence of her denial. Hinata looked like she was actually angry at him for even suggesting it, before she let out another squeak, turned bright red and began to stare at the ground. A second later a massive grin broke out over his face.

"Hey Hinata. After we've been assigned our teams and met our new sensei, would you like to get some ramen with me at Ichiraku's?" he asked.

"W-What? Why me?" Her face turned into a convincing imitation of a tomato for the third time in as many minutes.

'_Because there's something about you, the dark, quiet girl who I've probably never shared more than a few words at a time with, that's so achingly familiar all of the sudden. Because I want to know why _you _of all people can look at me with such strong conviction in your eyes when you say you believe in me.'_

"Ah well," Naruto began, nervously scratching at the back of his head. "It's just, I've just realized that I've gone through all these years at The Academy and might have almost missed out on having a really good friend and I wanted to try and fix that as soon as possible. Not that I'm trying to force you or anything. I just thought, that maybe…" he trailed off.

A small smile crossed Hinata's face. "I'd l-love to get the chance to b-be your friend Naruto-kun."

Naruto didn't fight the genuine smile that spread across at Hinata's words. "Great! We can at The Academy entrance after we meet with our sensei! But we should really get to class now or we'll miss the team assignments!" Together, the two hurried to the classroom and burst through the door, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"What's a loser like you doing here? Only people who _passed_ the test are welcome today," a voice called out from the seated students. Naruto turned to show the speaker _exactly_ why he was there when he froze. As his gaze passed over the other new genin, a cacophony of different voices suddenly began ringing around in his head. He might have been able to pick out the different voices in the commotion if given enough time, but within moments the influx of information overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees, clutching at his head as the world faded out around him.

The last thing he heard as he slipped into unconsciousness was the sound of Hinata's and Iruka's concerned voices.

* * *

><p>Within the reaches of Naruto's subconscious, the Kyūbi raised its head from its slumber and frowned. Twice within a short period of time its jailor's subconscious had…echoed, with some unknown memory or image. The first instance had been minor enough, if not unsettling, but it was the second that had the mighty demon fox concerned. The second…<em>echoing <em>event had knocked its jailor unconscious and had nearly caused them to manifest within the prison from the backlash.

'_**What kind of mess have you gotten yourself, or rather **_**us**_** into, pitiful jailor of mine?'**_

* * *

><p>Naruto groaned as he came to and became immediately aware how uncomfortable it felt to be waking up seated at one of The Academy desks. How in the world did Shikamaru manage to take a nap while sitting in these every day? Raising his head and groaning again, he attempted to blink away the sleep in his eyes.<p>

"What happened?" he asked no one in particular.

"We were hoping _you_ could tell _us_,dead last," the snide voice of Sasuke answered him. "You walked into the classroom, got called a loser and then fell to the floor clutching your head like you were in pain before falling unconscious. The only reason you aren't in the hospital is because you started snoring within seconds and the Hyūga girl used her eyes and said she couldn't see anything wrong."

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke and was almost immediately assaulted by a new deluge of voices.

"_My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."_

"_I don't look to the future anymore. Only the past."_

"_Just shut up for once! What the hell do you know about it?! It's not like you ever had a family in the first place! You were on your own right from the beginning, what makes you think you know anything about it?! Huh?! I'm suffering now because I had those ties, how on earth could you possibly understand, what it feels like to lose all that!"_

"_You always repudiated the Uchiha clan, so now we will disappear from your memories just like you always wanted. When I kill everyone in Konoha! By severing the bond, we will be purified! That will be the true revival of the Uchiha clan!"_

"_The Hokage created this situation. I'll become Hokage and change the village."_

"_It's all…on you now…usuratonkachi…"_

Naruto rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to hide his reaction. _'Damn it, what the heck is with me today?'_

"Why the heck are _you_ here teme? I'd have thought you'd be off with whatever team you got put…on…" the gears in Naruto's head finally clicked into place. "Oh you have got to be– this is a joke right? Who the hell decided that _we _would be good on a team together?"

"Hey! Where do you think you get away with talking to Sasuke-kun like that Naruto-baka?" a certain pink haired kunoichi's voice screeched at him. Startled, Naruto quickly turned his attention to the pretty face of his crush.

"_I'm Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is… Well… The person I like is… Umm… Should I say my dream for the future..? Oh my! The thing I dislike…is Naruto._

"_STOOOOP! Both of you! Stand down!"_

_"Naruto! I beg you! Please... Please bring Sasuke back. I couldn't do it... I couldn't stop him! The only person... who can probably save Sasuke-kun now is you...Naruto. Only you..."_

"_What I said Naruto…is that I love you! I'm saying there's nothing between Sasuke and me anymore! I dunno what I was thinking, liking a person like that. I'm confessing my feelings here, so listen up!"_

"_I'll get Naruto good as new! We all have to do our part! If we're going to die here and now…rather than die cowering…let's all perish with our heads held high!"_

Once again Naruto rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to cover up momentary blanking out. _'Okay, maybe I should have expected that…Should I have expected that? Yeah I probably should have expected that…But seriously, what-'_

"-the heck is wrong with you today?" Sakura's voice cut through his thoughts.

He threw a halfhearted glare in her direction which seemed to shock her. "Well I did just sort of wake up from an unplanned nap in a really uncomfortable position." Seriously, how did Shikamaru manage it? "So excuse me if I don't feel like pretending to be happy go lucky right now."

Sakura was openly gaping at him now and for once Sasuke's expression was something other than annoyed indifference.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked. Surprisingly, the angry, accusatory tone she normally directed at him in situations like this one was absent, and her gaping expression had morphed into one of confusion.

Naruto stared at her for a long, silent moment before slowly beginning to talk. "Well, you probably don't know since I don't really do much with anyone outside of The Academy, but I'm not exactly well liked in the village, and no, it's not because of the pranks," he cut Sakura off as she opened her mouth to interrupt. "It's not like they openly ridicule me most of the time or anything, but even someone like me can tell when almost everyone around me tries to pretend I don't exist." He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "It hurts a lot less to sometimes pretend I'm happy than to let myself really get angry at them. Besides, I've got people like Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-chan, Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji who believe in me, so I can't go letting them down –ttebayo!"

Sakura's expression morphed into an odd combination of confusion, mortification and disbelief. "Naruto…if it's not the pranks, do you know what it is that makes them all act like that?"

Naruto's entire body stiffened for a moment, before his signature fox-like grin spread across his face. "Nope! But that's why I'm going to do my best to become a great shinobi so they'll all acknowledge me!"

Sakura's expression relaxed and Naruto barely bit back a sigh of relief. The conversation had strayed uncomfortably close to the topic of the Kyūbi. _'Why did I even tell them that in the first place? Gahh, these echoey voices are really screwing with me.' _Caught up in his thoughts, he failed to notice Sasuke's own scrutinizing gaze.

* * *

><p>Kakashi leisurely strolled down The Academy hallway, humming to himself as he thought of the new genin squad he had been assigned.<p>

'_Maa maa, I wonder how they'll do. The Haruno girl's the daughter of two retired career genin and those tend to be about as hit or miss as civilian born… Hmm, her test scores were high but her other skills trended towards average for a graduate at best. The Uchiha was Rookie of the Year so he's obviously skilled and Naruto…' _Kakashi pushed away the twinge of guilt he felt at the thought of his sensei's son. _'His Academy scores are effectively trash almost all across the board, but some of the pranks he's pulled, and there is that rumor that he actually managed to escape some ANBU once.__' _

He glanced up at the eraser stuck in the doorway to the classroom the three little genin hopefuls were supposed to be waiting in. _'That's…surprisingly low key from what I've heard about his escapades. I feel like I should be insulted, but it'll probably be more fun in the long run if they underestimate me even more than they usually do.'_

Kakashi pulled the sliding door open and let the eraser fall on his head with a harmless 'plop'. Chalk dust plumed around his head and in the brief moment his vision was obscured, he missed the look of confusion that crossed one blond boy's face.

"Ahahahaha! You fell for it!" A blindingly blue and orange _thing _with straw blond hair and bright blue eyes pointed and laughed at him. For a moment Kakashi looked at the boy, just a fraction longer than a glance and just a bit shorter than a cursory once over. The unruly blond hair was a dead ringer for Minato's own shaggy mane, if a bit shorter, and while it was hard to say whose facial features the boy had gotten, the eyes that stared back at him were definitely Kushina's, even if they were the same color as Minato's. For a moment Kakashi struggled with whether he was saddened that his sensei's son hadn't gotten more of his features or desperately grateful that he didn't have to deal with even more of a constant reminder and came to the conclusion that either way, the memories _hurt_.

Kakashi let his gaze pass over the other two occupants of the room. The girl looked oddly conflicted as her eyes darted between him and Naruto, looking as though she wanted to laugh at the display and completely disassociate herself from the event at the same time. The Uchiha, on the other hand, looked as though he couldn't give less of a damn about what was happening. Kakashi might have believed it too, if the boy's eyes hadn't briefly flickered in Naruto's direction, and his brow hadn't creased in contemplation for a moment. _'Now just what did you do to get the both of them interested in the dead last, Naruto?'_

"My first impression of you three…is that I dislike all of you." Watching their expressions, he barely kept a grin from cracking his mask of indifference. _'Ah, priceless.'_

Five minutes later they were all sitting up on The Academy roof.

"Well…now that we're all here," Kakashi drawled out, ignoring the momentary surge in hostility from the three maybe-but-probably-not-genin in front of him. "Why don't you all introduce yourselves? Name, likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, you know. That sort of thing."

"Why don't you go first?" Naruto asked.

The Haruno girl nodded. "Yeah, you're the sensei."

"Hmm, well I suppose that's reasonable." The jonin slouched against the roof's railing. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no intention of telling you my likes or dislikes. My dreams? Hmm, I don't really see a reason to tell you those. I might tell you my hobbies…when you're all older."

"He only told us his name…" The Haruno girl turned to the other two, looking annoyed.

"Well I suppose it's your turn now," Kakashi gestured at Naruto. "Why don't we start with you on the right, blondie?"

Naruto futzed with his hitaite before smiling. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, Iruka-sensei, and Hokage-jiji. I dislike the three minutes it takes to make instant ramen." Suddenly, his gaze became surprisingly determined. "My dream is to be acknowledged by the people of this village and become a Hokage that surpasses all the other Hokages so I can protect my precious people!"

Kakashi's visible eye widened imperceptibly and he took note of how _everyone _seemed to react to Naruto's declaration. The Uchiha stiffened slightly, and the Haruno girl looked mildly…guilty? _'What in the world did you say to them Naruto?'_

The boy's own reaction was the most interesting of the lot, with both surprise and confusion flitting across his face before finally settling on acceptance. Kakashi stored that away for later contemplation and turned to the next in line.

The Haruno girl jumped a little as she realized his gaze was focused on her. "Oh right, my name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are…" she glanced at the Uchiha boy and her face lit up. "My dream is…" she glanced at the boy once more and let out a giggle that Kakashi almost applauded for how masterfully it danced the line between embarrassed affection and perverted intention. He also filed away the Uchiha boy's already fading blush as a possible blackmail for a later date. "My dislikes…" she opened her mouth to say something before pausing for a moment and frowning. "People who hurt others for stupid reasons."

'_It's really a shame how girls only seem to be interested in romance at this age, though there seems to be some new found maturity budding underneath the surface.__'_

Suppressing a sigh, he turned to the final member of the group. The black haired boy stared back for a moment before beginning to speak. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it reality. I will restore my clan, and kill a certain man."

Kakashi supposed that the boy's reaction was to be expected, considering his past. Biting back a curse towards Itachi for having so horrifically scarred his younger brother, he took a moment to glance at the other two and gauge their reactions. Sakura looked positively doe eyed in light of Sasuke's proclamation, and Kakashi really hoped that she'd latched onto the whole "rebuild his clan" bit over the "man I need to kill" part. Kakashi understood the desire for revenge. He still had a latent dislike of anything to do with Iwa or Kiri, but glorifying it wasn't something anyone should ever do.

Of course, it was Naruto's reaction that once again drew most of his attention. The blonde looked terrified and Kakashi couldn't for the life of him imagine what had put the boy in such a state. While it was true that Sasuke was putting out a tiny bit of killing intent, it wasn't nearly enough to have garnered this extreme of a reaction from Naruto. As painful as it was to admit it, the boy had probably suffered worse from civilians._ 'He looks like he was just told that Madara Uchiha rose from the grave and put him on his personal shit list.'_

And then the terrified expression was gone, replaced by annoyance so fast that Kakashi would have sworn the emotional whiplash was physically tangible. "Jeez, lighten up Sasuke. I feel like I'm drowning in ice over here. Did someone kill your cat or something?"

Kakashi barely had time to process the fact that Naruto had probably just said one of the worst things to Sasuke aside from _'Itachi is awesome and he did the world a favor when he killed your entire clan.' _before the other boy was on top of Naruto with a kunai pressed point first to the blond boy's neck. Kakashi closed the distance in an instant and yanked Sasuke off of Naruto before putting him in an arm lock while simultaneously disarming him of the kunai and pocketing it. The raven haired boy struggled against his grip for a moment before deciding on another course of action.

"You think it's funny? You think it's all a fucking joke? How would you feel if your own _brother_ killed off your entire clan! Your entire family!" Something changed in Sasuke's demeanor. Kakashi felt it in the way the boy's stance shifted under his grip. "That's just it, isn't it? You've never had a family so you couldn't possibly know what it's like to have lost those bonds. You can't even begin to understand the pain I've felt!"

Kakashi almost couldn't believe it. He'd understood that the Sandaime was taking a gamble with the current team selections, because tradition be damned, this team screamed incompatible on paper. None of the previous team's he'd been handed had fallen apart this quickly though. He hadn't even _mentioned _the bell test yet! His train of thought was cut off as Naruto began to speak softly while staring at the ground.

"You know, you're right. I've never had a family. I've never had anyone that close to me, and I can't begin to understand what it must have felt like to have all of that ripped away from you in a single night." Naruto raised his head and Kakashi stiffened slightly at the raw determination in the boy's eyes. "But I do know what loneliness feels like. How much it hurts. How it feels like there's a chunk of ice lodged in your heart that's so cold that it burns and you just want to do anything, _anything _to make it thaw for just a little bit." Kakashi's previous twinge of guilt came back with a vengeance at that declaration. Sasuke, surprisingly, remained silent. "And that's why I don't get you. Because when you aren't looking at someone who isn't there with that terrifying, hateful look, you look exactly how I feel sometimes."

Suddenly, Naruto's expression turned angry. "But instead of trying to get rid of that pain you cling to it like it's all you have left. You treat the people around you like shit and push away everyone who tries to get close! What is it that makes you so desperate to be miserable? Do you think that you're special? That just because your family was killed by someone you trusted that it makes _your _pain more important than anyone else's? _NEWSFLASH SASUKE! IT'S NOT!_" For one terrifying moment, Kakashi watched as Naruto's eyes turned bright red and his pupils became vertical slits before swiftly reverting to their natural blue. "We're fucking shinobi! People lose their families for shitty reasons every day, and some of us never got to have one! So let up on the damn pity party for once!"

Kakashi stared in shocked disbelief for a moment before letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as the murderous atmosphere fell to pieces. He glanced over at Sakura and felt a small pang of sympathy for her. She'd just been given her first firm dose of the reality of the shinobi world from a source she certainly hadn't expected it from and Kakashi had to admit she looked more than a little lost.

Kakashi turned his attention back to Sasuke and was relieved to find that the boy no longer seemed ready to murder his blond peer the moment he let him go. He released Sasuke who stumbled away a few steps before regaining his composure. The boy threw a wary glance in Kakashi's direction before retreating back into himself once more.

With the drama finally over, or at least benched for the time being, Kakashi had only one more thing to do. "Well, now that we've all had the chance to whine and complain like three year olds about how unfair our lives have all been, unless you'd like to have a go Sakura?" The girl shook her head insistently while the two boys turned to glare at him, "I think it's time I inform you about the little survival exercise we'll be undertaking tomorrow morning…"

A small part of him began to hope this team passed. Their reactions to his goading were priceless.

* * *

><p>Naruto calmly strolled through the hallways of The Academy, trying to make heads or tails of the insanity that had been his day so far. The fact that learning he wasn't really a genin yet <em>wasn't <em>the most pressing issue on his mind at that moment was perhaps the most telling of how utterly ridiculous his day had been.

Because really, how surprising could something like that be when you'd somehow experienced the event mere moments before it actually occurred? It was on odd experience really. Just as something was occurring it was as if a sort of filmy second layer was applied to the world and what was just about to happen played out like a scene from a movie. The time difference between the two scenes couldn't have been more than a second, but by some odd quirk he was able to observe them both equally without becoming disoriented.

Of course what made that really impressive was that the two scenes never seemed to perfectly match, though it wouldn't have bothered him nearly as much if there hadn't been something about the…_echoes_…that had seemed so real to him. It was like a separate, unknown part of him, something he'd deemed the _other_, was telling him that the _echoes_ had actually happened, even though he could clearly tell that the non-echo events were what really happened.

The oddest difference between _echo _and reality had been the one that occurred during his own introduction.

"_-so I can protect my precious people!"_

Naruto felt himself smile at the memory. He'd been surprised by that statement and it was almost like he hadn't been completely in control of himself when he'd said it. Even admitting that though, it felt _right_. The thought of protecting the people who were precious to him, and that he could honestly say he really _had_ people he considered precious to him made a wonderfully warm feeling bubble up from his belly and into his chest.

Then there were the moments when the _echoes_ and non-_echoes_ actually coincided perfectly. He shivered at his recollection of Sasuke's self-introduction. It was bad enough that he swore he had literally felt the cold hatred and intent to kill Sasuke had towards his older brother. It was made infinitely worse by how that same _other, _that seemed so oddly insistent on convincing him that the _echoes_ were real, reacted to Sasuke's declaration.

Not once in his entire life had Naruto ever felt such a pure, undiluted mix of rage, self-loathing and fear as the _other _had expressed in that moment, all culminating into a loud, blaring, and unspoken demand of _"STOP HIM!"_

Naruto had obeyed the demand in the simplest and most efficient manner he knew how, and cracked a bad and in almost assuredly horrible taste joke. He had just enough social awareness to realize that he _might _have just pushed things too far–

–and then he was suddenly pinned to the ground with a kunai posed to carve out his throat and he swore he had literally _felt_ the white hot fury rolling off of Sasuke in waves. Luckily enough for Naruto, their new sensei had yanked Sasuke off of him before the boy could decide whether or not he wanted to do the dirty deed. Deprived of this option, Sasuke had turned to words instead, both revealing a rather disturbing nugget of information and while simultaneously infuriating Naruto.

He'd retaliated in kind, but rather than spouting the usual meaningless ranting he resorted to when someone belittled him, he'd once again gone about spilling his own guts in a convoluted retaliation of sorts.

'_What in the hell is with me and doing that today?'_

Naruto hated showing vulnerability to people and yet there was something about the not yet official Team Seven that made him want to trust them, similar to the odd closeness he'd felt towards Hinata earlier that day.

After a brief period of deliberation, he'd come to the conclusion that it was all the _other's _fault. Aside from how it seemed to react to situations separately from him, it also seemed to have a separate set of emotions that got associated with specific people.

For Kakashi-sensei, the _other _felt a monumental amount of respect, which was a rather polarizing difference from Naruto's own annoyance and frustration towards the man for how he handled their first meeting as a team.

What the _other _felt about Sasuke was even more confusing as well as disturbingly convoluted. Trust, anger, and disappointment all mixed together in an odd blend, but there was another feeling that seemed to transcend all of that. The _other _saw Sasuke as a friend. No, the _other _saw Sasuke as something far beyond something as simplistic a term as friend. It was a confusing and terrifying yet at the same time wonderful feeling that made Naruto a bit jealous that the _other's _feelings were separated enough from his own to make him intimately aware that they _weren't _his feelings. Naruto wouldn't say he liked Sasuke all that much, but he was jealous of the _other's _ability to feel such strong positive emotions for someone.

Then there was Sakura. The attraction he personally felt for the pink haired girl was still there, but at the same time the _other's _feelings toward her were…calmer? Almost like the _other _didn't feel the need to try and grab her attention every other waking moment. And then there was that feeling of friendship that was more than friendship, but it was different from the friendship that was more than friendship that the _other _felt for Sasuke.

Maybe he might have taken the time to try to figure out why there was a difference if it weren't for Hinata. Before today, Naruto had known her as the dark, quiet and sort of weird girl who seemed to have trouble looking him in the eyes. Seeing they'd been in the same Academy class, he'd interacted with her enough to know that she was a really kind person, but not much else. Of course then she'd gone and surprised him that morning.

Of course that still didn't explain why the _other_ seemed to think she was so important. Just like with Sasuke and Sakura, there was that same feeling of friendship that was more than friendship that _also _somehow managed to be different from the other two. It was sort of weird how simply thinking of the quiet girl seemed to cause the _other _to project feelings of calming happiness. Naruto had about as much experience with different, strong, positive emotional bonds as someone one fourth his age, and trying to figure out the difference between _three _kinds of 'more than friendship' was far beyond his ability, as loath as he was to admit it.

"Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed, coming to a sudden realization. "Hinata's probably out there waiting for me!" He launched out of his leisurely stroll into a full out sprint towards The Academy entrance.

Not once did Naruto even begin to consider telling anyone else about these strange, new developments.

* * *

><p>If asked, Hinata Hyūga would be the first to admit that she wasn't quite sure <em>how <em>she had ended up where she was at that moment.

The day had started out ordinarily enough. She'd woken up early and briefly tended to the small flower garden along the edge of the Main Family's living compound, before cleansing herself and having breakfast with her father and sister. She'd then listened to her father's daily warning to "not be an embarrassment to the clan" while he looked at her in that way that made her sure he no longer expected even that much of her.

With her confidence thoroughly crushed for the day, she'd made her way to The Academy only to remember that Naruto, one of the few people who consistently made her life _not _miserable, hadn't passed the Genin Test and as such would be disappearing from her life for the foreseeable future. Thus, she'd made her way through the hallways of The Academy feeling even less ready to face the day than she normally was. That was, of course, until she'd collided practically headfirst with the boy, which would then set off a chain of events that she would later describe to her grandchildren as one of the most intense bouts emotional whiplash of her life.

After looking at her like he'd seen the ghost of a long dead friend, he'd grabbed her by the hand and practically dragged her halfway to the classroom before she'd gathered her wits enough to ask him why he was there. One demonstration of a B-Rank jutsu later and she was, for one of the depressingly few times in her life, completely forward in expressing her belief in his ability. For some reason, that had led to Naruto asking if she was screwing with him, as though he expected her to shout "April Fools!" and begin relentlessly mocking him.

The mere thought that he might suspect her of such a thing had actually bordered on physically painful to even contemplate, and, ignoring her normally crippling social anxiety for the second time that day, she'd vehemently denied any such notion. Somehow, that had landed her lunch at Ichiraku's with Naruto and his expressed hope slash promise to be her friend. Following that there had been the whole fainting thing he'd done when they'd gotten to class, but Iruka had assured her that things would be ok and she really thought it would be because _Naruto_ had asked _her _to be _his _friend.

It was a very bitter realization of hers at that point that she didn't actually have any friends. She was tentatively hopeful that she might form a friendship with Kiba and Shino now that they were on the same team, but knowing her track record with screwing things up she wouldn't get her hopes up.

In all her time in The Academy though, she'd failed to make a single friend. There were a variety of reasons for this, including but not limited to her crippling shyness, and the common and not altogether unfounded view that all Hyūgas had a thick branch up their collective asses; a notion that wasn't helped by her cousin Neji being in the year ahead of her. The final nail in the coffin was, of course, that out of all of the female students, she was the only one who wasn't enamored with Sasuke Uchiha, which didn't help when he managed to be the subject of four in five conversations the other girls had.

Sure, she'd always been aware on some level of her total lack of friends, but it seemed more painful now that she was forced to admit it to herself. And now, after so many years of not paying any more attention to her than he did most of their classmates, Naruto had finally seen her. He'd asked her to be his friend and she was elated at the prospect.

Yet there was another part of her that was frustrated, because she couldn't for the life of her figure out what she had done to catch his eye. HInata knew she hadn't done anything new or noteworthy, yet one headlong collision and surprisingly coherent conversation later and _BAM! _Naruto had asked her to be his friend. Regardless of how happy it made her, it just didn't make any sense. Regardless of her desires she hadn't really gotten any stronger, and if her meeting with Team Eight today was any indicator she was still the same shy, stuttering, couldn't-say-what-she's-thinking-to-save-her-damn-life failure of a clan heir she had been the day before. She felt like she'd taken the easy way out without even realizing it.

'_But if I haven't changed yet, has Naruto-kun?' _she asked herself, standing in front of The Academy entrance. Now that she finally had the time to stop and think she realized that there _was_ something about how Naruto had acted that day that simply didn't mesh with her previous understanding of his character. It was still him, and she had spent enough time watching him while trying to figure out what made him strong enough to keep trying every time he failed to be confident in her assessment of that fact. There was just a list of things that just didn't seem to add up.

Naruto had somehow passed the Genin Exam in an unknown, almost assuredly unorthodox way that had somehow resulted in him learning a variation of the Clone Jutsu that required a good deal more chakra than the average genin could use without having problems ranging from severe to fatal chakra exhaustion.

What specifically had led to him learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu was something he either wasn't willing to, or couldn't talk about.

Something about Naruto's expressions seemed more open than she'd ever observed previously. Hinata didn't think she'd ever seen him visibly express as many different emotions as he had that morning in ever. Happiness, anger and determination had always seemed to be the object of her affection's go to responses. Any kind of self-doubt on the other hand…

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Naruto shouting. _"NEWSFLASH SASUKE! IT'S NOT!" _Hinata's head jerked up towards The Academy's roof. _'What in the world is happening up there?'_

Ignoring propriety, (Her day had already been strange enough, what was one more oddity at this point?) Hinata performed the special hand seal to activate her Byakugan, sent her vision up to the roof, and saw something she couldn't quite comprehend. Naruto was half sitting, half lying on the stairs on The Academy roof while a masked man, presumably the jonin-sensei of Team Seven, held Sasuke in a simple arm lock. Off to the side sat Sakura, looking more confused than Hinata felt.

Hinata released her Byakugan and sighed. Whatever had happened between Naruto and Sasuke, she hoped it resolved itself sooner rather than later. Even the proud and noble Hyūga clan had their personal set of tales that detailed exactly what kind of terrible things could go wrong when there was infighting on a mission. The kind of stories where "they all died in a fight they could have won" was considered a "happy" ending.

For a moment she wondered if it meant something that those stories only ever seemed to be told by members of the Branch Family.

Several minutes later, the doors of The Academy opened to reveal Sakura and Sasuke. Surprisingly, Sakura wasn't using her proximity to Sasuke in an attempt to gain his attention and instead seemed to be lost in thought. That was, until she noticed Hinata.

"Oh! Hi there Hinata. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, um well…" Hinata felt her face begin to burn. "N-Naruto-kun promised to take me t-to lunch."

Hinata felt her blush intensify as Sakura's mouth curved up into a knowing smirk. "Ohoho, does that mean you finally got up the courage to-"

"N-n-n-n-no!" Hinata waved her hands wildly in front of her in denial. She couldn't let herself see the lunch as a date or think too hard on her attraction towards the blond haired boy. Doing so would almost assuredly obliterate any chance she had of talking to him without being an incoherent, mumbling, stuttering mess. "We just sort of…ran into each other before class started. I asked him how he p-passed and somehow it all led up to him asking if I w-wanted to each lunch with him as a f-friend."

"Oh, well I suppose that's good if it means he's finally noti-" Sakura paused. "Wait, are you saying you know how Naruto passed the test?" Hinata cowed under the sudden intensity of Sakura's gaze.

"…Sort of?"

"Well come on then! Spill!"

"Well…N-Naruto-kun learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu s-somehow and ended up passing because of that," Hinata said.

"You're joking." Hinata jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice, before berating herself for being so unaware of her surroundings that she hadn't noticed he was still there. "Naruto's Clone Jutsu has been a joke for years and you're telling me he's learned a more advanced version well enough to get Iruka to pass him?"

"Wait, what exactly is the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Sakura asked.

"Um, it's an advanced clone jutsu that's similar to an elemental clones in that it creates a solid replica of the user," Hinata explained. She looked down at the ground in embarrassment as the other two's attention focused on her. "It's a B-Rank kinjutsu that's generally reserved for jōnin level shinobi. Unlike other physical c-clone jutsu the Shadow Clone Jutsu creates the physical r-replica entirely out of chakra and then divides the remaining chakra between the clone and the user. Like m-most other solid clone jutsu, a Shadow Clone can be dispersed with a single solid blow, however the remaining chakra, memories and accumulated exhaustion of the Shadow Clone are returned to the user at that moment."

Hinata frowned as she became more engrossed in her explanation, remembering a lesson she'd been given shortly after activating the Byakugan for the first time. "The Shadow Clone Jutsu is labeled as a kinjutsu because of the danger of dying from the accumulated exhaustion of the clones and the substantial amount of chakra required to create a physical replica of the user out of nothing but chakra."

"How much chakra is considered substantial?" Sasuke asked, surprising Hinata once more. This was easily the most he'd willingly talked with her, or any girl really, in all their years at The Academy.

"W-Well, if you were to say that the Clone Jutsu initially t-takes a teaspoon of chakra per clone formed, the Shadow Clone Jutsu w-would roughly take a six ounce glass." Her brow scrunched together as a new thought came to her. "The average genin would b-begin to experience chakra exhaustion after one or two clones, but N-Naruto-kun…he didn't even look winded after he m-made four to show me."

"So what you're saying is that Naruto has more chakra than the average genin?" Sakura asked.

"Um, well d-depending on how many clones he can create at one time, he m-might have more chakra than the average jonin," Hinata clarified. Having voiced it aloud, her thoughts took the idea to its inevitable conclusion, and her eyes widened in realization. "The Inverse Theory of Chakra Control to Capacity Growth," she whispered.

Sakura's eyes widened as she immediately came to the same conclusion. "Oh. Oh! But that would mean. Do you really think-?" Hinata nodded shakily. "Oh…I mean, I always thought he was just a dunce without any talent for ninjutsu." Sakura grimaced. "I mean, he's still sort of an idiot but…"

Sasuke had taken a moment longer than Sakura to recall the theory, but upon doing so his expression shifted from the standard indifferent scowl to mild surprise. "So you're saying that the only reason Naruto can't do the Clone Jutsu is because he has so much chakra for our age that his chakra control is because he doesn't realize he's using too much chakra for it?"

Hinata felt herself wilt under Sasuke's scrutiny. "Um well, assuming that N-Naruto-kun has c-close to as much chakra as I think, then y-yes, possibly."

Sasuke scowled and turned to leave, then stopped. He turned back to face Hinata. "Why do you know so much about the Shadow Clone Jutsu if it's supposedly a kinjutsu?"

Hinata pressed her forefingers together nervously and gazed at the ground. "W-Well the Shadow Clone Jutsu is one of the few jutsu that can f-fool the Byakugan. Each clone has its own identical chakra n-network and chakra is shared evenly amongst the clones, m-making it impossible to determine the real body by sight alone." She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. "My f-father thought it pertinent that I know this, regardless of the f-fact that mostly only shinobi of Konoha should know the jutsu." Left unsaid was that he and the elders seemed to find it unnecessary to spread this information to the Branch House.

"_Tch_." Sasuke's scowl deepened and he began to walk away without another word. Sakura stood there awkwardly for a moment before giving a quick farewell and chasing after the boy. It was then that Hinata realized that she'd forgotten to ask where Naruto-

A hand clasped her shoulder. "Hey Hinata! Sorry it took so lo-"

"Aaah!" Hinata whirled around, accidentally backhanding the person with a chakra laced strike. Her unknown target hit the ground with a loud thud and groaned. Looking down, Hinata's eyes widened as she saw who it was she'd struck. "N-Naruto-kun! I'm so sorry! You just- I was just- I'm sorry!"

"No, no. It's ok Hinata. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that," Naruto rubbed at his jaw where the attack had struck. "Wow that stings. What the heck was in that smack?"

"Ch-Chakra," Hinata murmured, mortified by her lack of awareness and control.

"Wow, really?" Naruto stood up, working his jaw. "How'd you learn to do that?"

"Um, it's a part of my c-clan's fighting style, Jūken," Hinata pressed her forefingers together in nervous habit. "With m-my clan's dōjutsu, the Byakugan, we can see a person's chakra coils and attack th-them and the internal organs with chakra laced s-strikes."

"Heheh, that's a pretty scary sounding fighting style," Naruto said, rubbing at his jaw once more. Hinata's eyes met the ground in shame at the reminder of her carelessness. "I think it's misnamed though."

Hinata looked up in surprise. "What…?"

"Well there's nothing gentle about how it feels," he said. "But it's sort of awesome too! I mean, I bet you could totally take someone out with a Finger Poke of Doom or something!" He accompanied his explanation with an impromptu demonstration, snaking a finger around Hinata's hitaite and poking her in the neck. Hinata yelped and leapt back, her face burning at the unexpected contact.

"Hahaha! Yeah like that, but with more 'bleagh' and falling over and stuff," Naruto laughed, oblivious to the meaning behind her reaction. After a few moments of listening to the infectious sound, Hinata couldn't help but find herself giggling alongside him. Their mirth was interrupted by a loud gurgling sound.

"Ehehe," Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "Right! We should get going to Ichiraku's so we can eat!" He started a quick pace towards their destination, leaving Hinata to follow after him.

Looking at his back as they made their way through the crowded streets, her earlier doubts began to surface once more. What had she done? Why had he chosen now of all times to ask if she'd be his friend, when he hadn't given her a second glance before today?

As Naruto turned onto an abandoned side road, Hinata took advantage of the situation and made a hesitant grab at his sleeve. He stopped, looking surprised, and turned to look at her with a questioning look on his face.

"Why?" Hinata murmured, her eyes trained on the ground.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Why me? Why t-today?"

Naruto's features scrunched up in confusion. "I don't get what you're asking."

"I…I mean…I'm n-not strong. I d-don't stand out, and you've n-never so much as g-given me more than a s-second glance before." She blinked away the tears she felt building in her eyes. "So w-why today? W-What did I do?"

Naruto stared at her silently for a moment before leaning against a fence built alongside the edge of the road. His eyes were fixed on the ground. "I didn't ask if you wanted to be friends because I thought you were strong. I mean, I don't know how strong you are, or really know you all that well to be honest."

"Then why?" She choked out.

Naruto looked up at her, a sad smile on his face. "…I guess I'm just being a little selfish."

"S-Selfish?" Hinata asked.

"Hmm, yeah," Naruto nodded. "For most of my life the people of this village have done their best to ignore me. They all try to pretend I don't exist, and when they can't they never really have anything nice to say." He looked away from her, staring off into the distance. "The number of people I know that will look me in the eyes and say they believe in me is so small, and it was a struggle to get even that much." Suddenly, Naruto turned his eyes back towards her and she almost flinched away at the intensity of his gaze.

Hinata wanted to look away, to look shyly down at the ground like she always did whenever his eyes met hers, but this time she couldn't. She _wouldn't_. There was something important about this moment that she knew she'd lose out on if she took the cowardly way out now.

"And then, this dark, quiet girl, who I've never really talked to, looked me in the eye and said that she believed in me. And then, and _then_,when I asked her if she was screwing with me, she got mad! At me dattebayo!" Naruto gestured animatedly at himself before his gaze softened. "It…it made me feel really good y'know? I just want to get to know her, _you_, a bit better, to maybe figure out why you seem to believe in me so much…" He trailed off, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

Hinata stood stock still as Naruto's words ran through her mind on repeat, especially the last bit. "Oh…" _'Oh.' _Was it really that simple? It seemed unreal to her. She was the failure of the Hyūga Clan. She never got anything right and always gave up too easily. On some level she'd understood that Naruto was looking for the same sort of acknowledgment for his efforts that she did from her father, but she'd always assumed that the opinion of someone as weak as she was would mean next to nothing.

Yet here Naruto was, telling her that yes, her opinion really _did _matter to him. Her belief in his strength meant more to him than she could have ever dreamed possible and that realization filled her with a heady mix of shame and elation. Hinata could have approached him earlier. She _should _have approached him earlier, but she'd been too scared of rejection. The mere thought of the person who'd inspired her efforts to better herself possibly declaring her efforts worthless had always eaten up whatever courage she'd managed to build up whenever the opportunity presented itself.

To learn now that those fears had been baseless was something akin to a welcome slap in the face. Hinata was ashamed that her own deeply ingrained insecurities had kept this opportunity out of her reach for as long as they had, but she couldn't let that hold her back now. She felt newfound determination well up from deep inside of herself.

"I've," Hinata swallowed down her nervousness and continued. "I've always admired you, ever since early in th-The Academy. I've n-never been good enough f-for my clan. I keep f-failing to learn the family techniques and I always g-gave up too quickly. And then I noticed you. You…you didn't do all that well, and you failed more often than not," Naruto looked like he wanted to say something, but Hinata forced herself to keep speaking, "but no matter what happened, you always kept trying. No matter who called you a failure, you would never give up. That is what I admire about you. It's what inspires me to try and be better than I am right now."

The end of her speech was met with silence an almost comically wide eyed stare from Naruto. As the seconds rolled by, she felt her felt her fingers begin to twitch in nervous agitation and her face began to burn. The silence was almost suffocating and if they'd still been back at The Academy, this would have been the part where she rapidly escaped the situation with some excuse about asking a teacher one question or another. They weren't though, and a suitable reason to excuse herself in a situation such as this was eluding her grasp quite handily. So she was stuck standing there, her embarrassment rising in tandem with the heat of her blush.

Why wasn't he saying anything? Had she done something wrong? Had she gone and screwed it all up like usual? Her thoughts continued to spiral downwards as all of her insecurities rose to the surface.

Suddenly, Naruto was smiling and Hinata swore to herself that she'd never seen a more genuine expression of happiness on his face before that day. The mere notion that _she _was the one who had brought this expression out in Naruto brought Hinata out of her depressed state and placed her into such a powerfully happy daze, that she almost missed it when he began talking.

"You know, I always thought that to get people to acknowledge me I needed to always be doing something as big and flashy as possible, but first Iruka-sensei, and now you both did so for a completely different reason. It makes me wonder how much I might have noticed if I'd just stopped and paid attention every now and then," he said. Then Naruto pointed at her once more and Hinata saw the determination flash through his eyes. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, promise you that I'll be your friend forever, until the day I die!" he exclaimed, his smile growing wider.

Hinata stared uncomprehendingly at the blond boy, letting his last sentence cycle through her head on repeat as she slowly came to terms with what exactly it meant.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Naruto asked suddenly, snapping Hinata out of her reverie. "I didn't say something stupid right? C'mon, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

"Huh?" Hinata touched a hand to her face and was shocked to find it wet. She hadn't even noticed. "Oh," she choked out. "No…no you d-didn't do anything wrong Naruto-kun. I'm just…I think I'm h-happy."

"Happy?" Naruto's face twisted in confusion. "Are you sure?"

Hinata wiped away her tears and nodded. "Yeah, I…I'm just r-really happy is all." A smile spread wide across her face.

Naruto's face scrunched up into a pucker lipped, squinty eyed look of confusion for a moment before he smiled as well. "Well I suppose you'd know better than I would. Now let's go get some ramen! I'm starving!"

With that said, he turned back down the way they'd been heading and began walking once more. Hinata took a hesitant step, then began to follow him once more. Watching Naruto's back as they continued to walk towards their destination, she wondered which obscure deity she'd managed to please to have day that had started off so badly, have such a happy turnaround.

Then Naruto turned around and began to discuss some miscellaneous topic or another and Hinata simply had no more time to contemplate the topic further.

* * *

><p>"She'd acknowledged me for that long huh? Hehe, damn, I really missed everything when I was a kid."<p>

* * *

><p>Hours later, after lunch with Naruto and an evening meal spent under her father's cold gaze had worn through most of her allotted mental fortitude for the day, Hinata slipped into her room and felt her entire body hunch over in exhaustion.<p>

"Naruto-kun is my friend now." A large smile spread across her face and her thoughts grew fuzzy. "Best. Day. Ever."

That was the final straw. After an entire day filled with confusion, sadness, happiness and a desperate mantra of _'This is real. It's not a dream. Don't you dare faint.'_, Hinata finally succumbed. She fell against the wall as her consciousness faded and slumped to the ground in a sitting position.

* * *

><p>Hanabi froze as she heard the thump from inside her sister's room. She stopped outside of the door and after a brief moment of internal debate, slipped into the room to see if Hinata was alright.<p>

She froze as she took in the scene before her. Her sister was seated, slumped against the wall asleep with a small smile across her face. It reminded Hanabi of a fuzzy memory from a few years prior.

_Playing ninja late into the night. Hinata unconscious against the wall, exhausted from her training. Hanabi grabbing the blanket from her bed to curl up with the sister she loved so much._

Hanabi glanced at Hinata's bed and after a moment's hesitation, yanked the blanket off and draped it over her sister's sleeping form. She stepped back and looked at the scene once more. Her sister looked so peaceful, so welcoming, so loving… Hanabi continued to stare at Hinata, wondering for a moment if she might allow herself to snuggle into her sister's side and fall asleep like she had in that memory.

The moment passed and Hanabi shook herself. No, Hinata had failed to show the strength necessary to protect and lead the clan and now it was Hanabi's fate to take that mantle upon her own shoulders. She didn't have time to dally upon old memories anymore.

With that thought in mind, Hanabi slipped out of her sister's room.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So yeah, that was a lot longer than the few days I promised when I posted the epilogue…really didn't expect this chapter to take 4 months and really hope it doesn't happen again. I partially blame the fact that this chapter exploded to about twice as long as I originally thought it would be. Between that, finding the drive to fill in the stubborn parts and having to rewrite the final Naruto/Hinata scene 3-4 times and time just sort of flew away from me. Other than that, I just sorta dropped the ball.

For anyone who can't tell already, yes I ship NaruHina and yes this fic will be NaruHina. However, I don't plan on really playing with romance until during/after the timeskip. There will be some development fluff for pairings here or there, but otherwise no one will be getting together during the Part 1 Chronology.

I feel like Naruto and Hinata's meeting was sorta contrived, but I'm planning on using it for more than just shipping fodder so that should probably help balance things out. I'm also hoping I've managed to at least given a good basis for Naruto's more drastically OOC moments. What exactly has happened to him will be more fully explained in the future.

I really adore Hinata as a character so I'm hoping I managed to find a good balance between her deeply ingrained insecurities and the deep well of inner strength she has that Naruto's presence helps bring out when it really matters. I've always really identified with the "shy character" because of my own struggles with social anxiety, so I'm hoping I do her justice in this fic.

Funnily enough, the Sasuke/Naruto confrontation in this chapter was originally meant to be a gag of sorts, and then Sasuke decided to react very badly far quicker than Sakura could initiate the slapstick. I like how it turned out though.

Fun fact: Sasuke _does _actually blush during Sakura's part of the Team 7 introductions scene.

I'm going to guess that chapters for this fic will average between 8-12k words, so hopefully I can manage roughly a one month interval or so between chapters.

Posted 2.14.15

Edited 5.21.15 Did some basic clean up and reworded some scenes to make them flow better.


	3. 2: New Senses, Old Names, and Long Stand

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

**Chapter 2: New Senses, Old Names, and Long Standing Mysteries**

Naruto looked at his teammates for a moment before sighing and slumping down against one of the three training posts found in the center of Training Ground Three. They'd already been waiting for an hour and while his gut instinct had been to stew angrily and complain, the _other's _feelings of resigned acceptance whenever he thought about the subject had tripped him up. After giving it a little thought, Naruto had come to the conclusion that if yesterday was any example, their possibly-maybe-sensei might unfortunately make a habit of showing up late and that complaining now wouldn't do much more than irritate Sakura and Sasuke.

Not that he really cared if he irritated Sasuke, but doing anything that irritated Sasuke generally resulted in an angry Sakura which was usually accompanied by him getting hit and he was really too tired to want to deal with that at the moment. Of course that wasn't going to stop Naruto from reaming Kakashi when he finally appeared, and maybe trap the man's house with a prank or six if he ever figured out where he lived.

He glanced up at his teammates once more. Sasuke wore his trademark look of broody indifference, but there was something else there that seemed to buzz at the edge of Naruto's senses. It had nothing to do with the _other _either, though he couldn't have explained how he knew that.

Naruto turned his gaze to Sakura. Now on some level he understood that he probably wasn't the most observant individual. His talk with Hinata the day before had driven that point home well enough, but even _he _could tell that there was something off about Sakura today. She seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, and even stranger was the fact that she hadn't even attempted to start up a conversation with Sasuke at any point in the last hour they'd been waiting. On top of that, there was a strange buzzing at the edge of his senses, that was the same and yet different from what he felt from Sasuke, that emanated from her as well.

Naruto frowned and closed his eyes, only to have them pop back open in surprise. _'That buzzing feeling… It was almost as if I could-'_

Naruto shot to his feet and took a few steps away from Sasuke and Sakura before closing his eyes and beginning to spin around.

"What the heck are you doing you idiot?" Sakura's voice called out. Naruto stopped spinning and turned his attention towards where her voice had come from before grinning. He turned directly away from Sakura and began to walk swiftly but carefully away. Finally he stopped, before taking a few steps backwards, turning around and finally opening his eyes.

He eyed the distance between him and his teammates, who were now giving him their full attention, and guessed that it was probably around twenty-five meters or so. Then again, he was _really _paying attention to it at that moment, so the distance might shorter when he wasn't.

"Dammit Naruto-baka, tell us what you're doing already!" Sakura shouted as Naruto made his way back towards them. He thought about evading the question for a moment, before deciding against it.

"Ah well, it's sort of hard to explain," Naruto began. "It hasn't been happening for long, maybe a day or two at best," for a moment he recalled how the glares he'd become so adept at ignoring had almost seemed heavier that morning, "but I've been getting this really weird buzzing feeling at the edge of my senses, and I just realized that the buzzing apparently points me directly at people."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "You're a _sensor_?" she asked, sounding flabbergasted. "I mean…_how_? That's supposed to take a lot of training and require some complicated chakra manipulation. You're saying you've suddenly gained the ability out of nowhere?"

"...I guess?" Naruto offered weakly.

"Your range is what, twenty-five meters? That was about how far away you were when you stopped." Naruto narrowly avoided jumping in surprise at Sasuke's sudden entrance into the conversation.

"Maybe? I mean, I think it's only about that range if I'm focusing on it," Naruto explained, scratching at the back of his head. "It might be a lot shorter if I'm not paying attention."

"So you're suddenly _maybe_ a half decent sensor if you're paying attention on top of potentially having an absurdly high amount of chakra for a genin," Sasuke said.

Naruto made to retort at Sasuke's snide remark, before pausing. "Wait, how would you know if I have a lot of chakra or not?"

"The Hyūga girl told us that you'd learned how to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Sasuke said.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Hinata told you? Why would she do that?"

"Ah, well I might have pressured her into telling us when she mentioned she knew how you passed," Sakura admitted, looking sheepish.

Naruto took a moment to decide whether or not he should be angry at that, before coming to the conclusion that they would have figured out about it sooner rather than later. It wasn't like he was about to try and keep what was probably his best and only worthwhile jutsu hidden. "Oh, alright then, but what does that have to do with me having a lot of chakra?" Naruto asked.

"Because the Shadow Clone Jutsu is supposed to cost a lot of chakra to the point that you popping out four of them on a whim to show Hinata should have knocked you unconscious or hospitalized you if you had anywhere near the amount of chakra that the average genin has," Sakura explained.

"Huh, it does?" Naruto asked. "I never really noticed. I mean I guess I was pretty tired after that one time I summoned a hundred or so to beat the crap out of that bastard Mizu…ki…" Naruto trailed off as he realized what he'd let slip.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sakura exclaimed. "You summoned a _hundred _shadow clones and you were only _tired_?! How much chakra do you actually have! No, better question, why the hell did you beat the crap out of Mizuki-sensei?"

Naruto scowled. "Because he was an asshole and a traitor," he ground out. Sakura gasped and Sasuke seemed to retreat into himself. The buzzing sensation Naruto was getting from him seemed to sharpen and become more defined, but before Naruto had a chance to figure out what exactly it was, the moment had passed.

"Explain." Sasuke's intense gaze penetrated Naruto and rooted him to the spot.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Don't play stupid Naruto. You're an idiot, but there's no way you're _that _dense," Sasuke said, ignoring Naruto's outraged expression. "You learning a kinjutsu restricted to mostly jōnin, passing the Academy Exam, and Mizuki being a traitor are all connected, so explain."

Naruto stewed for several seconds, grinding his teeth together in frustration before he deflated in resignation. He could tell Sasuke wasn't going to let up on him now and it wasn't like he _had _to explain the part about being the Kyūbi's jailor.

"Fine," he sighed, "but you better not interrupt me."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded and Naruto began to explain the events of that night from the moment Mizuki approached him, to the final part where Iruka gave him his hitai-ate, leaving out any reference to the Kyūbi.

"Wow, that's really…you think you can trust someone…" Sakura trailed off.

"Why did he choose you?" Sasuke asked. "There had to have been better choices than you to sneak into the Hokage's home and steal away with a scroll full of forbidden techniques."

"I dunno, maybe because I was the dumb, desperate kid who only a handful of people would really miss," Naruto said petulantly. For a second Sasuke looked like he was going to press for more information, but the moment passed as quickly as it had come.

"On top of what I displayed at the Academy, I'm also decent at shurikenjutsu including wire manipulation and the use of fūma shuriken," Sasuke suddenly said. "I can also use the Great Fireball Jutsu, which is a Katon jutsu that I can use to light a nearby area of about few meters diameter on fire."

"Why are you telling us this?" Naruto asked warily.

"Because assuming we pass the Cyclops' stupid test and become a team," and the way Sasuke said this left Naruto with no doubt that the other boy thought that failing was an impossibility, "I'd rather not have one of us die for as stupid a reason as not knowing what the others can do."

"Oh," Naruto said dumbly. It was somewhat of a shock to hear Sasuke, the guy who'd always preferred to be alone, saying things that so blatantly hinted at the intention to work together with someone. This was only compounded upon by the _other _expressing curiosity and mild disbelief towards the situation. "Uh well, you both already know most of the extra stuff I can do now, but I'm sorta awesome at setting traps too. I've caught chūnin in my pranks a few times and there _was _this time I got an ANBU with one. That _might _have been a fluke though because it was actually set off by three ninjas who were about the age we are now as they chased after this crazy cat and the ANBU sorta got caught in the crossfire. That and the paint splatter was _a lot _larger than I thought it would be."

Sakura and Sasuke stared at him blankly for a moment before Sasuke seemed to regain his wits. "Right then, maybe we can add dumb luck to your list of skills."

"Hey!"

Sasuke ignored him and turned to Sakura. She stared back at him blankly for a moment before jumping slightly. "Oh right! I can-"

* * *

><p>It was official. Naruto hated this day with a burning passion. He hated this stupid Bell Test. He hated Kakashi's stupid orange book. He hated that Kakashi had come so late that he'd basically forced them all to skip lunch after already being told to skip breakfast. He hated that the sadistic bastard had decided the best way to teach him to watch his back was to use an extremely painful ass poke, <em>especially <em>when he'd almost managed to dodge it thanks to his newfound and currently ill-defined sensory ability. This was only made worse by the fact that he'd had to experience an _echo _of the event where he'd been even less successful in dodging said ass poke simultaneously.

Come to think of it, Naruto also hated the _other _at that moment, because there was no other way to define the amusement he was feeling from it as anything other than that it was _laughing at him_.

Of course, none of that mattered currently, because at that moment he was flying through the air, fist cocked back and ready to deliver the mother of all punches right into that sadistic, ass poking, masked bastard of a jōnin's face while his clones held the man in place. He even had an _echo _occurring at that moment, showing nearly the same exact thing. He was going to have the memory of punching the masked bastard in the face _twice_. It obviously couldn't get any better than that.

And then, in both the _echo _and reality, Kakashi was simply no longer there, and Naruto went flying into one of his shadow clones that had somehow taken the man's place. Normally, Naruto would have simply assumed Kakashi had transformed into one of his clones and they would have begun to beat the crap out of each other in an effort to figure out who was who. In fact, that was _exactly_ what was happening in the _echo_. Instead, the _echo_ faded away as Naruto noticed a key piece of information. He could no longer feel the buzzing sensation that had represented Kakashi's presence.

"Alright then, all of you start trying to find the masked bastard!" he ordered his clones, who all called out an affirmative and darted off in different directions.

"Oh sweet, he dropped one of the bells dattebayo!" Naruto turned to see one of his clones reaching down for something on the ground, only to be swiftly and suddenly yanked up into the air by an ankle noose. Naruto and his clone stared at each other for a moment before the clone seemed to get impatient.

"What are you waiting for? Get me down already!" Naruto sheepishly pulled out a shuriken and cut the clone down with a well-aimed throw. The clone performed a textbook tuck and flip, sticking a perfect landing on ground just over the dropped bell-

-only to be yanked back up into the tree by a copy of the previous trap. Simultaneously amused, annoyed and grateful that it was a clone that had gotten stuck in the trap, Naruto went to pull out another shuriken when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"C'mon! What are you waiting for Boss!" the clone asked.

"You're just a clone," Naruto pointed out.

There was a moment of silence before a look of recognition appeared on the hanging clone's face. "Oh yeah…" The shadow clone dispelled in a puff of smoke and Naruto staggered as a rush of memories hit him, including the sensation of being hung by an ankle noose two times in quick succession.

_'That was _not _an _echo_.'_

He'd barely had time to come to terms with where the memories had come from before the masked bastard was suddenly in front of him, picking the dropped bell up off the ground.

"Well, you should be relieved to know that you have a budding talent for slapstick to fall back on when you fail this test," Kakashi quipped, flashing Naruto an infuriating eye smile. "Now while I've been having a blast during this little game of ours, I think it's about time I go pay some attention to the other little cuties who think they're ready to be shino-" he was cut off as a handful of kunai and shuriken embedded themselves in his side to bloody effect.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. It wasn't difficult to decide which of the two other genin hopefuls had launched the attack. "Dammit Sasuke! That's going to fa-" He trailed off as Kakashi was suddenly replaced by a decently sized log with a large number of sharpened projectiles stuck in it.

Naruto looked around wildly, attempting to figure out which direction everyone had gone when two separate counts of the same event flooded his mind.

_'Those were the memories...of my shadow clones?'_

Seconds later a high pitched scream rent the air.

"I'm coming Sakura-chan!" Guided almost as much by the memories of the destroyed shadow clones as the direction of the scream, Naruto dashed off. Less than a minute later he found Sakura lying unconscious in a small clearing.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly knelt over Sakura and attempted to shake her awake. After a few moments her eyes fluttered open before widening dramatically. Crying out, she attempted to sit up without taking in her surroundings.

"Sasuke-ku-!"

_CRACK!_

Naruto and Sakura reeled away from each other, Sakura clutching at her head in agony while Naruto fell on his ass, feeling dazed.

"Dammit Naruto! You don't lean over someone like that when they're waking up!" Sakura reprimanded him as she sat up, still rubbing at her forehead.

Naruto blinked rapidly as the dazed feeling was replaced by a dull ache behind his hitaiate. "Sorry Sakura-chan, I just heard you scream and panicked when I saw you on the ground like that," Naruto explained. "What happened anyways? The masked bastard popped my shadow clones before he did anything to you."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and Naruto felt a thrum of something he could almost describe from the odd buzzing feeling he felt in relation to her. She began to look around frantically, and Naruto couldn't for the life of him understand what he'd said to cause such a reaction.

"Sasuke-kun... Where is he? He was right there, and he was so hurt…but there's no blood…" she trailed off and the buzzing sensation that represented Sakura changed once more, and for once Naruto could without a doubt tell exactly what the sensation meant.

Anger. Sakura was feeling pure, unbridled, righteous fury, and aside from the fact that Naruto was intimately aware of what all of the standard visual cues for her being angry were, he couldn't quite wrap his mind around why he could literally _feel _her rage. Even the _other _seemed to be shocked by the revelation.

"I'm going to kill him," Sakura said, her voice unnaturally calm. The smile on her face made Naruto want to find the nearest tree in scampering distance and cower behind it until it was safe again. "I'm going find the cruelest and most unusual methods of murder possible and then I'm going to kill that masked bastard." Sakura's face contorted in rage. "I'll show him the consequences of taking advantage of an innocent maiden's heart!"

Memories suddenly popped into Naruto's head and he couldn't help the snicker that escaped his mouth. The unfortunate sound made Sakura focus the entirety of her rage fueled attention on him, and Naruto suddenly found himself wishing that Kakashi had buried _him _instead of Sasuke.

"What's so funny?" Sakura asked in a dangerously sweet voice.

"N-N-N-Nothing!" Naruto waved his hands wildly in front of himself in denial. "It's just, one of my clones just popped. The masked bastard and Sasuke fought for a bit over in that direction." He pointed in the direction his shadow clone had been. "Then the masked bastard finished the fight by burying Sasuke in the ground up to his neck."

There was a moment of silence as Sakura stopped to process what Naruto had just said. Then she bolted off in the direction he had pointed. "Don't worry Sasuke-kun! I'm coming!"

Naruto scrambled after her, nearly tripping over his own two feet in his haste to follow. "Wait for me Sakura-chan!"

It took them less than a minute to find Sasuke, buried up to his neck in the ground just like Naruto's shadow clone had observed. Naruto immediately broke out into hysterics, Sakura angrily hit him over the head, and then finally, he summoned two shadow clones to dig Sasuke out of the ground.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going, bastard?" Naruto called out as Sasuke turned to leave almost immediately after he'd successfully crawled out of the hole.

Sasuke turned to face him. "What do you think? I'm going to find Kakashi and take a bell from him."

"Nope. Nuh-uh. Not happening," Naruto shook his head. "There's no way in hell you're getting a bell."

Sasuke glared at him. "What, you think you're going to stop me dead last? Don't be delusional."

Naruto scowled at the insult, but pressed on. "Nope. I won't have to do a thing. The masked bastard will just beat you as badly as he did last time."

"I managed to touch a bell last time," Sasuke ground out. "I'll be able to get one this time."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "Because my shadow clone saw the entire fight, and he buried you pretty easily after he evaded your Grand Firewhosawhatsit Jutsu or whatever it's called."

"I didn't see you doing any better dead last!"

"None of us did," Sakura chimed in. The two boys looked at her in surprise. Naruto had actually forgot she was there for a moment, which was sort of pathetic considering he was apparently a natural sensor now. "Kakashi-sensei beat all of us before we really had any chance at the bells," she continued. Naruto watched as her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "He beat us at our own game…"

"What do you mean by that Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I mean that he beat us with the shinobi arts we were supposed to be the best at in the academy," Sakura explained. "Sasuke-kun was buried by a ninjutsu, I was knocked out by a genjutsu, and taijutsu _was _your best subject back in the Academy, and Kakashi-sensei _could_ have just incapacitated you rather than poke you really hard in the…rear." She grimaced at the recollection.

Naruto grimaced as well, and fought back the urge to rub his backside.

"Is there a point to this or are you just rambling on about how badly we all got our asses kicked for the fun of it?" Sasuke asked. Naruto opened his mouth to tell Sasuke off, but was cut off when Sakura began to speak again.

"I, well…" Sakura looked down at the ground nervously. Naruto felt the buzzing sensation that represented Sasuke slowly intensify as the silence dragged out, to the point that Naruto almost thought he might be able to identify what it was. Finally, just as Sasuke looked about ready stick to his original plan of leaving to find Kakashi on his own, Sakura spoke up again in a tumbling string of words. "Ithinkweshouldworktogether!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke froze in confusion. They glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Sakura, who hadn't looked up from the ground yet. It sort of reminded Naruto of how Hinata acted sometimes, which was confusing because he couldn't help but feel that the expression of doubt on Sakura's face just did not belong there. Not that he thought that it belonged on Hinata's face either, especially since she looked so much prettier when she was smiling. Actually, that seemed to be a pretty universal truth. Girls were prettier when they were smiling.

Naruto might have taken a moment to nod sagely in light of his new and profound understanding of the universe had Sasuke not chosen that moment to speak up again.

"Come again?"

Sakura looked up with a nervous look on her face. "I… I think that if we all got beaten when we encountered Kakashi-sensei on our own, that maybe we might have a chance of getting the bells if we work together."

"You do remember that there are only two bells, right?" Sasuke said. "If we work together, we either leave one person out of the plan, or have to choose someone to fail if we manage to get them bells."

"I know, but doesn't it all seem kind of…off?" Sakura asked.

"What d'ya mean Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, feeling confused. Strangely enough, the _other _had been giving off a feeling of approval from the first moment Sakura mentioned them working together, but Naruto couldn't imagine why. As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke had pretty much hit the nail on the head. Of course, Sakura was _really_ smart, so if she was saying they needed to work together he figured it might be good idea after all, even if it did mean he'd have to work together with Sasuke.

"Well, I thought about it while you were digging up Sasuke. Before Kakashi-sensei called this a test, he called it survival training right?" The two boys nodded. "Well…maybe it's just me, but doesn't it seem odd how much trouble he's gone through to make sure we don't work together? Making sure we don't eat breakfast and then bringing only enough lunch for two of us to eat on top of only having enough bells for two of us to pass." She counted off the various reasons on her fingers. "Don't you find it even a little strange that he's done so much to encourage us to split up when surviving would be easier if we worked together?"

"Get to the point already Sakura," Sasuke said. "We don't have the time to listen to you ramble."

Sakura grit her teeth and Naruto was surprised to see her showing frustration towards Sasuke for once. "I'm saying that if this is supposed to be _survival _training, then we've already all been killed!" she shouted.

Naruto and Sasuke stared at Sakura in semi-awed silence, then turned to each other. The silence stretched out for a few moments longer before they turned back to Sakura.

Naruto sighed. "Well, I don't like the idea of having to work together with this bastard, but I _really _want to get back at the masked bastard for poking me in the ass like that." Sakura's eyes lit up at his admission, and she turned a hopeful gaze towards Sasuke.

A strange, convoluted combination of a smirk and irritated frown made its way on to Sasuke's face, making him look as though he was having strange muscle spasms. "Tch, if you're wrong about this it's all on you. Now what's the plan?"

Naruto watched as Sakura's face danced through a complex chain of expressions as elation turned to confusion turned to a sheepish look of guilt. "Ah well, I was more focused on how to convince you two to work together with me than making up a plan."

Sasuke grit his teeth and turned to Naruto.

"What are you lookin' at me for dattebayo? All of my best stuff is done in the moment, not planned out beforehand," Naruto said.

Sasuke looked like he was about to have an aneurysm, before he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Fine then. I'll make the plan, but I better not hear either of you complain about the role you get, especially you Naruto."

"I already told Sakura-chan I'd work together with you Sasuke," Naruto snapped out angrily. "As long as it's not something stupid like playing a damsel in distress I won't complain."

Sasuke smirked. "Of course not. An enemy jōnin would just kill you if you tried to do something that stupid. Anyways, what I need to know immediately is if your shadow clones have enough chakra to perform a physical transformation."

The memory of an incident involving a certain closet pervert came to mind and Naruto found himself grinning in anticipation. "Yeah. Yeah, they can do that."

Sasuke nodded. "Good. That makes things easier. Now here's what we'll do-"

* * *

><p>Kakashi stood leisurely in the middle of the central clearing of Training Ground Three, reading from his beloved first edition copy of Icha Icha Paradise while waiting to see if any of the cute, little brats would make another attempt to get the bells from him. They were running low on time, but he figured that at least Naruto was presumably still running around.<p>

Once again he found himself wondering whether or not he really should have popped the shadow clones he'd spotted watching his fights with Sakura and Sasuke. From one angle it looked like a rather ham-handed method to give them a push to work together, but from another he couldn't help but think that most enemy ninja wouldn't know about the jutsu's ability to transfer memories, especially considering that no other clone jutsu worked that way. It wasn't as though enough of Konoha's shinobi actually had the excess chakra to run around hemorrhaging it for disposable scouts, or otherwise used a fighting style that actually benefited from the high risk technique for that juicy tidbit to have possibly become common knowledge.

In fact, he could only name two, living, Konoha born shinobi who regularly used the jutsu as a part of their fighting style, not including Naruto.

The first was Hayate Gekkō, a man known for his ability to mix shadow clones and swordplay to devastatingly lethal effect. The second was the infamous Itachi Uchiha, who had been famous among the ANBU forces for his ability seamlessly mix his powerful genjutsu with masterfully placed shadow clones to completely obliterate his enemies' sense of reality.

If Itachi's use of the jutsu was comparable to a perfectly thrown senbon needle, and Hayate's was like that of a gracefully wielded katana, then Naruto's use of shadow clones could be compared to an untrained child swinging around a sledgehammer; dangerous if you were stupid enough to stand in still in his path, but otherwise rather simple to maneuver around if you were paying attention. Kakashi smirked at the thought.

"I'm saying that if this is supposed to be _survival _training, then we've already all been killed!" a feminine voice called out. Kakashi glanced up from his book intrigued. That had come from the direction of where he'd buried Sasuke, which suggested that all three had managed to group up. He had to admit that the angle Sakura seemed to be taking was certainly a new one, if a bit risky. If the records from the Academy were anything to go by, if either boy took that statement as an affront to their pride, the chances of them working together and passing this test would become essentially nonexistent. Of course, she had applied that statement to herself as well, which would theoretically soften the blow.

Of course, he doubted that that had been a calculated act on her part. Unless she was an exceedingly talented actor, she fit the "green as grass" rookie shinobi archetype to a T.

Minutes passed as Kakashi mused on the subject, and he was beginning to wonder if any of them were ever going to make another attempt for the bells when there was a noticeable disturbance in the trees near the edge of the clearing. Kakashi caught glimpse of Sasuke hidden in the foliage and had only a moment to think about how odd it was that the boy had shown such a startling lack of skill before a handful of shuriken were sent flying his way.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as the shuriken flew his way. It was common knowledge that the small throwing weapon was best used to force an enemy shinobi to move in a specific way. The problem, in this case, was that Kakashi could easily spot multiple gaps in the oncoming wall of shuriken that he could easily slip through, and there was no way a rookie like Sasuke, regardless of how talented he was, could effectively watch and strike at that many danger zones without hesitating long enough to give Kakashi plenty of time to get clear.

It was practically an open insult, especially since Kakashi already had firsthand experience of Sasuke's skill with projectile weaponry less than twenty minutes earlier. All of the skill the talented boy had shown before seemed to have been thrown right out the window and Kakashi couldn't help but feel baffl-

Kakashi came to the embarrassingly late conclusion that he'd been duped at that exact moment. He realized how he'd been duped a moment later when the handful of badly thrown shuriken suddenly transformed into a wall of orange clad bodies ready to fall upon him like a swarm of angry hornets.

It was here that the jōnin idly recognized that a sledgehammer wielding child could be reasonably dangerous when directed by someone halfway competent.

His hands blurred into action, one tucking his beloved smut away while the other pulled out several shuriken and launched them at the center of the flying mass of bodies. Several of Naruto's shadow clones popped out of existence and Kakashi slipped through the newly made gap with practiced ease. He passed through the resulting, thin cloud of smoke and was met head on by Sasuke. Kakashi couldn't help the small quirk of his lips at the sight. He could possibly maybe see himself passing this team if things continued to go well.

Sasuke and Kakashi traded blows for a moment before Kakashi heard the telltale battle cry of Naruto's shadow clones charging him from behind. Kakashi hopped away from Sasuke's assault and then flipped backwards over the shadow clones, casually tagging all of them with another handful of shuriken and watching them pop out of existence. Sasuke seemed to ignore the loss of his support troops and chucked a kunai at Kakashi's skull, which was casually deflected into the sky.

Kakashi immediately realized that the attack had been nothing more than a brief distraction as he noticed Sasuke flash through a familiar set of hand seals. Kakashi waited for the ball of fire to erupt from Sasuke's mouth and obscure the boy's vision before he rapidly ran through his own set of seals and sank into the ground. the jōnin nearly sighed. It seemed that Sasuke was keen on repeating past mistakes and he'd have to teach the boy another lesson on not leaving oneself open while using ninjutsu. He didn't bother waiting for Sasuke to finish his jutsu this time around and immediately moved into position to yank him underground.

"He's right under you Sasuke!" Naruto's voice called out just as Kakashi began to push his hands out of the ground. His grasping hands found nothing but air, and Kakashi wondered how Naruto had known where he was. He quickly yanked himself out of the ground and saw Sasuke leaping away while a Naruto shadow clone, or maybe it was the real one this time, fell out of the sky. It took Kakashi only a moment to realize that the kunai Sasuke had thrown had been yet _another _use of the blond boy's surprisingly advanced Transformation Jutsu. Altering one's shape to that extent required a great deal of chakra and impressive concentration. The upside of course, was that people tended not to realize that the sharp and/or pointy projectile heading towards their person at high velocity was actually someone using the Transformation Jutsu for the very fact that it was _a sharp and/or pointy projectile heading towards their person at high velocity_.

The sound of someone approaching from the left made him turn his gaze to identify his newest assailant. Sakura came charging at him, arm cocking back before she threw a kunai at him. It was a textbook throw, and the kunai was making a beeline for the bells tied to his waist, but Kakashi wasn't a jōnin for nothing, and the weapon was advancing far too slowly to catch him. He shifted to leap away from the attack only to be hit by a sudden and intense wave of vertigo. The feeling passed in almost the same moment it had occurred, but it had slowed his reaction just enough that he was almost caught flat footed when the kunai transformed into _yet another _Naruto that was now flying at him and reaching for the bells.

It was frankly getting to be ridiculous. Kakashi was an _elite jōnin _and he was constantly getting tripped up by a relatively simple combination of the shadow clone and transformation jutsus. In all fairness, the chakra cost of using those techniques that extensively in tandem was positively abhorrent, and the number of shinobi he could immediately name off who could pull it off to the extent Naruto had without dropping dead of chakra exhaustion was probably little more than ten, most of whom were at Kage level and had _far_ more efficient means of misdirection. Still, it was vexing when a fresh genin could pull it off and still look like he had as much energy as a squirrel hopped up on opiates.

With reflexes honed by countless life or death experiences, Kakashi grabbed the boy out of the air and prepared to return him to sender.

"Not yet you masked bastard!" another Naruto called out from above and behind him. Kakashi twisted around to see the Naruto that had alerted Sasuke to his position only a few seconds earlier rocketing towards him. After offhandedly taking note of the fact that the boy seemed to have summoned another shadow clone in midair and used it to alter his trajectory, he snatched that blond out of the air as well. Kakashi continued his spin to gather a small bit of momentum and then threw both Naruto's back to their respective throwers.

There was a satisfying chorus of 'Oofs' as Sakura and Sasuke were launched backwards by Kakashi's blond haired projectiles. All three genin landed roughly, with the Naruto that had hit Sakura poofing out of existence and the real Naruto rolling off of Sasuke and groaning. After a few moments, the members of Kakashi's new team pushed themselves off the ground, ready to launch their next assault when the alarm clock went off with a loud _'BRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!'_

"DAMN IT!" Kakashi watched as Naruto fell backwards in frustration. "We were so close!" His sentiments were shared by his teammates' looks of disappointment and frustration.

"Hmm, yes. It seems you did fail to get either of the bells," Kakashi said. "So whose idea was it to work together?"

"Sakura-chan was the one who convinced us," Naruto said.

"But Sasuke-kun is the one who came up with the plan," Sakura added in.

"Which probably wouldn't have worked as well if Naruto hadn't played the part of a living armory," Sasuke said, looking as though he wasn't sure whether he should feel pained to have admitted that or not.

"Fascinating," Kakashi said. "Well, I _was _going to give you all another shot at the bells after the two of you who were the least terrible got to eat some lunch, but I can see that that's no longer necessary."

"What, NO! C'mon Kakashi-sensei, I can't go back to the Academy!" Naruto cried out in panic. "You have to give us another chance!"

"Oh no, I think you've misunderstood me," Kakashi said, fighting back a grin. "You see, none of you are going back to the Academy." He waited for a moment to enjoy the confusion on their faces before continuing. "Because you passed!"

There was a moment of silence as the three newly minted genin absorbed what they'd just been told. Unsurprisingly, it was Naruto who reacted first. "YES! I PASSED! Jiji better watch out because I'm one step closer to that hat of his!"

"But sensei. I thought…the bells," Sakura trailed off.

"Ah yes, the bells. Well you see, it was all just a trick!" Kakashi said, giving the three genin his best eye smile. "You see, the whole point of this test was to see whether or not you could put aside your self-interest for the good of the squad as well as see underneath the underneath like any ninja worth their hitaiate. You were all pretty damn miserable excuses for shinobi at the start, but you three somehow managed to pull your heads out of your asses and work together well enough at the end." He ignored Sasuke's and Naruto's annoyed expressions as Sakura spoke up again.

"But sensei, isn't it a bit much to expect us to work together when everything's stacked against us doing so?"

Kakashi let his playful demeanor fall away. "That's the point. If a bunch of brats who think they're hot shit can't even pull it together enough to work as a team in the face of a threat as meager as being sent back to the Academy, who in their right mind would trust them to work together when things actually get dangerous?" he asked. "Someone who goes gallivanting about on their own is an unacceptable danger to both the mission and their comrades. It's that kind of idiocy that gets teams in situations like this one."

"What do you m-" Sakura's question was cut off as Kakashi dashed behind her faster than any of the genin could follow and placed the blade of a kunai to her throat.

"Naruto! Kill Sasuke or Sakura dies!" Kakashi demanded. He watched as Sasuke immediately got on the defensive as his eyes rapidly darted between his two teammates, while Naruto looked as if he'd just been ordered to drown a sack of kittens. Kakashi released Sakura and she fell to her knees, trembling. Naruto rushed forward and knelt down in front of her as he attempted to comfort her, while Sasuke shot her a mildly concerned look before turning a wary gaze towards Kakashi. "Hostage situations like those become all the more likely if the squad has poor teamwork or infighting," he said.

Kakashi stared off into the distance for a moment as haunting memories of Obito's and Rin's deaths flashed past his mind's eye. "There's something I want you all to remember until the day you die," he began, drawing the three genins's attention back to him. "In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." He let them ruminate on his words for a moment before he turned away from them. "Come with me you three," Kakashi said, waving them after him. "There's one last thing I need to show you before we're done for the day."

Kakashi led them a small ways through the training ground, and stopped in front of a large, kunai-shaped, black monument. He turned to face his students. "This here, is a monument to the heroes of this village."

Kakashi watched as Naruto opened his mouth to exclaim something, before the boy stopped and an indiscernible expression crossed his face. "How…how does someone get their name on it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed. "Everyone on this monument has been declared KIA. This is a monument to all of Konoha's fallen soldiers from the day the village was founded."

"Is the Yondaime's name on it?" Kakashi froze at Naruto's question. There were numerous implications that statement could have, especially considering Naruto was now privy to the truth of what had happened to the Kyūbi. Kakashi observed the boy closely, trying to discern his feelings on the subject. A moment later he nodded, kneeling down and pointing at one of four names he'd memorized the location of on the monument.

Naruto walked up to the monument, and Kakashi took the opportunity to look at his other new students. Sakura was sending a confused look toward Naruto, which Kakashi supposed was justified. The Academy reports had made it clear enough that Naruto being calm _and _respectful of something at the same time was rare enough, and given that she had no knowledge of Naruto's burden, she had absolutely no context for Naruto's seemingly out of character behavior.

On the other hand, Sasuke looked mostly impassive, if a bit intrigued. It was an odd dichotomy of sorts, Kakashi mused. Naruto had no knowledge of who his parents were, yet here he was, unknowingly honoring one of them for their sacrifice. Sasuke knew exactly who he had lost, but the nature of their deaths meant they would never be honored on this monument.

The sound of Naruto's breath hitching drew Kakashi's attention back to the boy and he immediately took note of the boy's drastically changed demeanor. Naruto's eyes were wide with shock, his face had gone pale and his fingers lay trembling underneath a name just adjacent to Minato's. Kakashi berated himself for not having thought of the possibility as he realized what Naruto had seen. He knew exactly where _her _name was on the Memorial Stone, yet he'd completely forgotten about the possibility of Naruto seeing it because of his worries about how Naruto might react to knowing the man who had given him his burden was on the monument.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's voice came out shaky, with none of its normal vibrancy. "Who…who was Kushina Uzumaki?" Naruto turned to Kakashi and the man was struck by how truly vulnerable the boy looked at that moment. "Was she…was she my mom? Hokage-jiji always told me that she died during the Kyūbi attack, and this Kushina lady's name, it's right next to the Yondaime's. That means…that means that she died around the same time right?" Kakashi felt the weight of twelve years of guilt and running away from his past pressing in on him. He'd never even thought- he hadn't even had time to come to terms with the fact that he'd be teaching the son of the man who'd almost been a second father to him, let alone thought of what he would do in a situation like this. "Kakashi-sensei…_please_."

Kakashi took a deep breath as he fought to retain his composure, then let out a long sigh. "Sasuke. Sakura. You're dismissed for the day. We'll meet again tomorrow in front of the Hokage's building at 0700." He turned his attention back to Naruto once more. "Naruto, you and I are going to go visit the Hokage."

* * *

><p>"All these things I kept missing when I was just an idiot kid. It sorta makes me wish I could go back and relive it all again."<p>

…

"Is that what you were trying to give me, Sasuke? It didn't quite work out that way though, did it?"

…

"I wonder if that's such a bad thing."

* * *

><p>Sasuke walked in no particular direction at a leisurely pace, lost in thought. It was a habit of his, to walk through the less traversed sections of Konoha when he wanted to think. Some might have thought his home would be a better place for it, but the apartment just outside the abandoned Uchiha compound didn't exactly produce an atmosphere conducive to thinking about anything not tied to his desire for revenge.<p>

In this case his thoughts were far more focused on a certain blond idiot than they were on revenge. Of everyone in his graduating class, Naruto had been the one who had drawn his attention the most. There had been an almost immediate connection that Sasuke hadn't understood in the slightest until he'd realized how lonely Naruto was. They were both plagued by that horrid curse, but the ways they handled it were different.

Naruto had always played the fool. People shunned him for reasons unknown and he'd become an annoying brat to get the attention he seemed to so desperately crave. He was a foolish idiot who was too busy playing stupid games to actually work towards that absurd dream of his to become Hokage that he made sure _everyone _knew about.

Sasuke slammed his fist into the building he'd been passing by. "How does an idiot like that get away with having those damn eyes!" he ground out. His thoughts went back to the day before, when Naruto had gotten well and truly angry. His eyes had held such an infallible conviction, and such a heavy and potent anger that it had taken Sasuke aback. Naruto didn't _do _angry. Or rather, his anger never had any weight to it. It was always just a pointless tantrum over one thing or another.

Yesterday though…yesterday that anger had been powerful. That anger had held a weight to it that Sasuke never would have dreamed Naruto could muster. Sasuke could admit that he had grossly overreacted to Naruto's unintentional slight and that he had said far too much in trying to repay the idiot for the painful memories it had brought up. Maybe that was why Naruto's response to his anger had been so uncharacteristically personal. Maybe that was why Naruto's eyes had seemed to look straight through all of his walls and see straight to the core of the issue.

Sasuke stepped away from the building and clenched his fists. It seemed like he'd had a lot of misconceptions about Naruto, the first being that he couldn't take anything seriously to save his life and the second that he was a weak, talentless, dead weight of a shinobi.

He'd been hard pressed not to openly call bullshit when the Hyūga girl, Hinata, had brought up the Inverse Theory of Chakra Control to Capacity Growth. The theory was sound, but it worked off of the idea that people born with a lot of chakra had a harder time consciously using smaller amounts of it due to sense of scale. To have chakra control bad enough to be completely incapable of using the low cost Clone Jutsu and have it attributed to that theory meant that Naruto would have had to have an absolutely monstrous amount of chakra for a shinobi, let alone a genin. It wasn't as though the Clone Jutsu was all that difficult to perform , but it was the one that required the most chakra control.

Sasuke knew that he himself had a good deal more chakra than the average genin. He couldn't have used the Great Fireball Jutsu twice in less than an hour if he didn't, but he'd only had a mild amount of trouble with the Clone Jutsu before an afternoon or two of intense training had worked out the kinks. No, it was just easier to assume that Naruto had more chakra than average, but that his terrible chakra control was mostly the result of being an idiot who didn't take his training seriously. At least that had prior evidence to back it up. The mental energy half of chakra was near impossible to accurately measure, but you could generally tell whether a person had a lot of physical energy, and by extension how much chakra they might be capable of producing, by how quickly they got tired. If there was anything Naruto excelled at, it was in having massive reserves of stamina.

Of course, the assumption that Naruto had only an above average amount of chakra had been rather brutally hamstrung by his recounting of the "Mizuki Incident". If there was one thing Sasuke knew for certain, it was that Naruto didn't lie, or at least that he couldn't tell a convincing lie worth a damn. The idiot had more tells than a naive, first time poker player and it got even worse when he was trying to make himself look good. He'd shown none of that when recounting his tale.

Naruto had told Sasuke and Sakura that he had created somewhere in the vicinity of one hundred shadow clones. With a straight face. _Reluctantly_. Regardless of whether or not each shadow clone really did take as much chakra to produce as the Hyūga girl had said, it was common sense that creating a solid, seemingly autonomous clone took a good deal more chakra than creating an illusionary image that had to be controlled directly or preprogrammed.

Even if Sasuke hadn't believed Naruto when he said that, his performance during the Bell Test would have convinced him. Creating over a dozen shadow clones, and then having them all successfully maintain a physical transformation, which the idiot could apparently perform flawlessly when he was actually taking things seriously, for close to five minutes and not even looking winded after it all was more than enough proof that Naruto had far more chakra than even an above average genin.

Oh and of course Sasuke couldn't forget that Naruto had apparently taught himself how to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu and then applied it to a combat situation in a few short hours. Was the Academy's grading scale even worth a damn when the supposed dead last could pull off something like that?

"Damn it! Who the hell are you Naruto?" Sasuke's teammate was inexplicably hated by most of Konoha. In fact, that was probably connected to why Mizuki had targeted him, which was more than a little disturbing. For Naruto to be so intensely hated that a chūnin would do something so completely bankrupt of logical thought as to rely on an _Academy student_ to steal a scroll of forbidden techniques, regardless of the fact that it had somehow worked, left Sasuke reeling. Mizuki might have been trying to place the blame on Naruto, but anyone competent enough to be a chūnin instrutor should know about the Yamanaka clan, and anyone who knew even a little about the Yamanaka clan knew that even if Naruto had been the kind of person to try and keep it all secret, it wouldn't have mattered.

In an attempt to think about how easily hatred might destroy someone's capacity for rational thought, Sasuke considered how he might react if his bro- _that man _appeared before him at that very instant. Moments later he shook himself and shuddered. If his imagination was any indicator, he'd have to find a way to work on his self-control. Recklessly charging at _that man_ down a narrow hallway with a not yet fully developed Sharingan was almost assuredly a recipe for a monumental disaster.

Sasuke pushed the thought aside for the time being and turned his attention back to the subject of Naruto and his oddities. He had an absolutely monstrous amount of chakra. He was apparently close enough to the Hokage to feel comfortable referring to him as jiji, though that could just be Naruto being one of the single most irreverent people Sasuke had ever borne witness to.

What really brought it all together though, was what had happened at the Memorial Stone. The fact that Naruto didn't know his mother's name, yet had been told by the Hokage himself that she had died in the Kyūbi attack was an oddity. The fact that their sensei had momentarily looked like he'd been punched in the gut when asked if the woman named Kushina had been Naruto's mom had been suspicious. When Kakashi had immediately decided take Naruto to see the Hokage because of Naruto's question, those suspicions had gone from 'potentially paranoia' to 'there really _is_ something suspicious about Naruto'.

All of these pieces of information added up to _something_, but Sasuke would be damned if he knew what. He had a feeling Naruto knew, but he doubted that asking the idiot would get him anywhere. Naruto had already poorly deflected questions about the hate he received several times in the last two days.

Sighing, Sasuke leapt up to the roof of a nearby building and took a moment to gather his bearings before heading off in the direction of the nearest training ground. There was no point in wasting any more time pondering questions he couldn't answer, and he didn't feel like returning to the Uchiha compound yet.

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" Sakura called out as she slipped through the door. After a few moments with no response, she sighed in relief and slipped off her footwear. She loved her parents, she really did, but she <em>really <em>didn't want to answer any of their questions about how things had gone that day when she was still trying to figure that out herself. The last two days had been… well there were a few words that could describe what the last two days had been, but none of them could really encompass it in its entirety. In the end, everything came back to the three people who she was now a part of Team 7 with.

Funnily enough it was their sensei, the newest of three, that was the least confusing. Both of her parents had told her enough about their careers as Konoha shinobi for her to know that anyone who managed to make jōnin was probably going to be at least a little off. Needless to say, she'd been expecting at least some measure of oddness from her jōnin instructor. She wasn't exactly sure _how _to classify her sensei's oddness, but she had to admit that it was definitely there. She could roll with that though. She'd had plenty of warning for that. No, it was Sasuke and Naruto who had gone and pulled the rug out from under her feet.

Sasuke… Sasuke was the cool, talented, Rookie of the Year that Sakura knew practically every girl her age wanted, but she was so sure that _she'd _be the one to win his heart. He'd save her from some super powerful and nasty ninja during a mission, look into her eyes, and passionately declare his love for her. He'd just been promoted to genin and he was already cool and mature enough to have some mysterious, evil, bad guy that he had to kill!

And then the illusion had shattered. Suddenly the bad guy Sasuke wanted to kill was his _older brother_. The same brother who had apparently _slaughtered _everyone else in Sasuke's clan, his _family_. Sakura was an only child, so she couldn't really imagine what it might be like to have someone that close to you shatter that bond in such a horrific manner. She couldn't even begin to imagine how painful it would be if she came home one day to see one of her parents killing the other.

Sure, Sakura had known that the Uchiha Clan had been almost completely wiped out a few years ago. You'd have to be living under a rock, or be Naruto, to not know that. Before yesterday though, that had just added to the "appeal" of Sasuke. Fantasies of being that special girl who healed Sasuke's poor, broken soul were common enough among his enamored fans, though they'd usually had enough tact not to discuss them while he was around.

Those fantasies suddenly became a _lot_ less fantastic sounding after she'd gotten an actual glimpse at the pain Sasuke was keeping locked away. Things became a whole lot less sunshine and rainbows when you were forced to turn around and see all the blood and death just behind your back.

Sakura still liked Sasuke. That hadn't changed. There was just something different about it now. Catching just a glimpse of the hatred Sasuke kept locked away had forced her to reevaluate a lot of things, not least of which was how to go about approaching him from now on. Attempting to push her affections on him as blatantly as she had before suddenly felt far less appealing and a great deal more insensitive than it had before. At least she'd have plenty of opportunities to figure it out now that they were on the same team.

A loud grumble emanated from Sakura's stomach and she scowled at the reminder that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day prior. She headed into the kitchen and quickly assembled the ingredients for a sandwich or two. Diet be damned she was starving! Her stomach protested loudly again as she carefully prepared the simple meal.

"I get it already! It's not like I knew our sensei was a sadistic bastard and that I'd forget about the bentos after Naruto went and…" she trailed off as she was forced to think about the other reason her last two days had been such a mess. If her view of Sasuke had matured, then her view of Naruto had been slugged in the face with a handful of her more blatant misconceptions.

Two days ago, Naruto had been simple. Two days ago, Naruto had just been the loud, obnoxious troublemaker who made it his goal to annoy the hell out of her as often as possible. He hadn't been a boy who could describe a depth of loneliness Sakura couldn't even begin to comprehend. He hadn't been a boy who'd looked ready to break down crying because he _might _have learned his mother's name.

That had been the part that hit Sakura the hardest. There had been a few times where she'd thought about how lucky he was that he didn't have anyone around to tell him what to do, even if it did mean he was an annoying brat most of the time. Sakura had wished more than once that her parents would just get out of her life and leave her alone, but she'd never spared much thought to what she'd be missing out on if they had.

What would it be like, to have no one to come home to? To have no one to comfort you when you had a nightmare in the middle of the night? To have no one there to hug you close when you got hurt? Sakura shuddered as she realized that Sasuke's ability to act maturely even though he lived alone was another part of what had made him so attractive. If Naruto was in that much pain because he was alone, was Sasuke in just as much pain? Was he in even more pain because he knew what he was missing?

Sakura sighed before taking a bite out of her freshly made sandwich. She'd have loved a day or three to herself to help her sort through her thoughts and feelings on all these new revelations, but she knew the odds of her getting that time in the near future were slim to none. Maybe if she could talk it out with someone…

Her mother was the first person that came to mind, but then she thought about some of the things Naruto had said the day prior and suddenly that choice didn't seem all too appealing anymore. Maybe if she'd ended up on any team _other _than Sasuke's she might have been able to talk to Ino, but as things stood that simply wasn't an option at the moment. Sakura wouldn't be able to get a serious conversation out of the other girl for weeks, if not months. That was really a shame now that she thought about it. Sure they'd been rivals for the last few years at the Academy, but they'd still been able to share meaningful conversation on the rare occasions the topic wasn't about Sasuke.

Sakura briefly considered Hinata as an option before realizing how laughable a choice that was. It wasn't that she disliked the girl, she just didn't know her. Hinata was the quiet girl with confidence issues worse than Sakura had had prior to befriending Ino. She also seemed to have a maybe somewhat possibly cute crush on Naruto of all people. That was admittedly less absurd sounding now than it had two days ago, but it was still sort of weird.

Naruto and Sasuke were both immediately discarded as options, and for more of a reason than them both being the subject of what she wanted to talk about. Regardless of her mildly improved opinion of the boy, she still didn't trust Naruto to be able to hold a serious conversation for more than two minutes tops. As for Sasuke, well regardless of the fantasies it would fulfill she could admit that Sasuke was _not _of the touchy, feely, talk about their feelings type of guy.

A few more options were thought up and summarily rejected, causing Sakura to sigh dejectedly as she finished her second sandwich. "Well that's not depressing or anything," she sarcastically bit out. "I was so excited about being on Sasuke's team that I didn't even notice I don't really have anyone to talk about girl stuff with anymore."

She cleaned up the kitchen quickly before heading to her room and flopping lazily onto her bed. "Well at least we passed Kakashi-sensei's test." Sakura smiled for a moment at that thought before a sudden frown marred her features. "Not that I did much…" **'Cha! I was totally a part of that amazing plan to take down the masked bastard!' **"Sasuke was already amazing on top of being good enough to use nature transformation techniques as a genin. _Naruto _turned himself into a living armory _and _managed to catch Kakashi-sensei off guard for a moment _before_ we teamed up. All I did was get knocked out by a genjutsu, throw a kunai clone and use a shitty genjutsu."

The genjutsu in question was a training genjutsu that had fallen out of use early in the Sandaime's reign due to how impractical it was. In effect it caused the target to experience intense vertigo. The catch was that even the most inconsequential stuttering of chakra flow broke the genjutsu. Even a _civilian _chakra network jolted enough from the shock the sensation caused to disrupt the jutsu in less than a second. In all honesty, if Kakashi had been taking the three of them anywhere near seriously it was likely the jutsu wouldn't have affected him in the slightest. The standard Clone Jutsu could produce the same opening with slightly more preparation as well as serve several other uses on top of that. The only reason Sakura had learned the genjutsu was because she'd thought there might be an extra credit opportunity in doing so.

It was disheartening to think that she might be the weakest link in her team. She'd never entertained the hope of being better than Sasuke, but she'd _thought _she brought more to the table than Naruto. Then he'd, probably unknowingly, revealed exactly how powerful and versatile the Shadow Clone Jutsu was. They could act as sacrificial reconnaissance units with that absurdly useful memory transfer feature, they could probably act independently of the original, use any and all jutsu the original knew as long as they had the chakra for it, and act as a general force multiplier. The only limiter on its use was how much chakra creating a shadow clone consumed, but Naruto seemed fully capable of practically ignoring that obstacle. The only thing keeping Naruto from completely outstripping her was the fact that his general skills were still mostly subpar. Of course, that also meant he had that much more room for improvement.

'**Well what am I just sitting around and doing nothing! I've got to make sure that Naruto-baka and Sasuke-kun don't leave me in the dust!' **Sakura perked up slightly at that thought. "Yeah! And I've still got to get back at the masked bastard for taking advantage of my maidenly heart! **'Yeah! I'm gonna make him wish he'd never been born!' **"Yeah!" **'Yeah!' **"YEAH!" **'YEAH!' **"WHERE DO WE START?" **'I HAVE NO IDEA!' **"THEN TOO THE LIBRARY!" **'FUCK YEAH!'**

She was out the door and en route to the library in less than a minute. She wasn't expecting to find any instructions on how to perform 'some super awesome jutsu' as Naruto would put it. It took a very special kind of stupid to not realize how horrendously bad an idea it would be to leave that kind of information out where a good spy could easily get access to it. What she _could_ do was use the resources available to find something she might excel at.

LINE BREAK

Naruto flipped through a worn and slightly tattered photo album, poring over each and every photograph for the third time that night. He wanted to absorb every detail, every nuance of _her_ that he possibly could. He thought back to the meeting he had had with Hokage-jiji only a few hours back.

_Naruto was ushered into the Sandaime Hokage's office by Kakashi and the elderly man looked up from his desk as the door closed behind them. "Kakashi, I wasn't expecting you until the meeting later today. Did something go wrong with your test?"_

"_Not at all Hokage-sama," Kakashi said. "In fact, I'm proud to say that they passed with flying colors."_

_The old man's eyes widened in surprise. "Did they now? That's exceptional news indeed, but not something you would have appeared early, or brought along Naruto for. What happens to be the purpose of this visit?"_

"_I brought my team to the Memorial Stone, and Naruto saw _her _name next to the Yondaime's," Kakashi explained._

_The Hokage turned his gaze to Naruto, looking the entirety of his nearly seven decades at that moment. Naruto opened his mouth to speak but was warded off by the Hokage's raised hand. The elderly kage rose from his desk, bit his thumb and performed several hand seals before bringing his hand down on the desk. There was a large plume of smoke which cleared to reveal a white furred, tan skinned monkey that stood approximately three fourths as tall as Naruto did. There was a large scroll attached to a strange contraption on its back. A Konoha hitaiate hung from its neck._

_"Hiruzen-sama_,_ it is an honor to be summoned by you once more. What would you have me do?" the monkey asked._

_"It is good to see you again as well Sarunidai," the Hokage replied. "If you would be so kind as to retrieve Kushina's photo album for me." If the _other's _emotions hadn't been noticeably separate from his own, Naruto might have jumped at the shock the _other _felt at that moment._

_"Just the album?"_

_"Yes." The Hokage nodded. Sarunidai grabbed at the edge of the scroll and pulled, causing it spin on its axis around the pole that ran down its center. The monkey placed his hand on a portion of the scroll and a slightly tattered looking photo album appeared in a small plume of smoke. Sarunidai then handed the album to the Hokage._

_"Will you be needing anything else?" the monkey asked._

_"Not now. You may return to your home good friend." Sarunidai bowed his head towards the Hokage before popping out of existence._

_"You're a lot like she was when she was young you know," the Hokage began. "She was a very loud child, and liked proclaiming to anyone who would listen that she'd be the first female Hokage." The old man chuckled. "She was quite the troublemaker, though she was less inclined towards pranks and more towards beating up anyone and everyone who tried to pick a fight with her. I'll admit I'm glad you didn't follow after her in that aspect in particular."_

_The Hokage handed the worn album to Naruto, who accepted it with trembling hands. Naruto moved to open up the photo album-_

_"Naruto." He froze as the Hokage addressed him once more. "I must ask you to keep your mother's identity a secret from others."_

_Naruto's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Why?" he asked._

_The Hokage sighed. "Your name, Uzumaki, belongs to a once great and powerful clan that was allied with Konoha."_

_"I have a clan?" Naruto asked, a strange mix of hope for a family and bitterness rose up inside him at the information. He ignored the feelings of resignation and sadness from the _other_._

_"They and their island nation of Uzushiogakure were wiped out at the dawning of the Second Shinobi World War," the Sandaime said with a regretful look. "What few survivors of the clan there are were scattered to the four winds."_

_"What…why would anyone do that?"_

_"There were a number of reasons," the Hokage said. "The main one being that the Uzumaki were collectively the best fūinjutsu specialists in the world."_

_"Fūinjutsu?"_

_"It is a difficult to learn and obscure branch of the ninja arts that is uses complex arrays of symbols and patterns to seal away various things and entities," Naruto clenched his grip over his stomach as he realized what that meant, "or produce a variety of miscellaneous and obscure effects. Sealing scrolls are among the most commonly used applications of fūinjutsu. After Uzushio fell, the number of fūinjutsu masters left in the world has sharply declined and has continued to decline ever since."_

_"So they attacked Uzushio because they were scared? But if that's the case, why is keeping my mother's identity secret such a big deal?" Naruto asked, scowling. "People already know my last name is Uzumaki."_

_"That brings us to the second reason the Uzumaki were so feared." the Hokage said. "The Uzumaki clan was similarly well known for their incredibly resilient life force. This resulted in extended lifespans and an incredible capacity for surviving things that would kill a normal man. It was also reflected in their chakra itself, allowing them to excel at certain techniques."_

_"But what does any of that have to do with my mom?" Naruto asked, beginning to get annoyed._

_"While the Uzumaki name is no longer feared across the nations due to the loss of a majority of their fūinjutsu techniques, there are those who are still greedy for the powerful chakra they tend to possess. What made your mother special, was that even among the Uzumaki, her chakra and life force were considered exceptionally powerful," the Hokage explained. "When she was young, there was a kidnapping attempt on her by Kumo for the purpose of acquiring that powerful chakra for themselves. If you were to become publicly known as the son of Kushina Uzumaki, rather than just another Uzumaki orphan, it is quite possible that you would be subject to attempted kidnappings much like your mother was."_

_"Oh…" Naruto said, stunned by the revelation. "Um…jiji?"_

_"Yes Naruto-kun?"_

_"I uh…I know you just said that I can't tell anyone, but could I tell my teammates?"_

_The Hokage opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Kakashi. "Hokage-sama, if I may," he began. The Hokage nodded and Kakashi continued. "I'll admit that I was caught off guard by Naruto's revelation and I reacted somewhat unprofessionally. It's highly unlikely that neither Sasuke nor Sakura will bring it up sometime in the future, and it might hurt the somewhat fragile teamwork the three displayed during the Bell Test if Naruto is forced to withhold the information."_

_"I thought you said they passed with flying colors." The Hokage gave Kakashi a wry smile._

_"Only when it came down to the wire. They were pretty much hopeless for most of the test," Kakashi said._

_"Hey! We were not-"_

_"Says the boy who only avoided falling into an obvious trap because his shadow clone did it for him," Kakashi quipped._

_The Hokage laughed at Naruto's grumbling for a moment before his expression became serious once again. "I will allow you to tell your teammates the identity of your mother if they ask you Naruto-kun. However, I must impress upon you how important it is that you let them know that it must remain a secret."_

_Naruto smiled. "Thank's Hokage-jiji I won't let you down!"_

_"That's good to know Naruto-kun. Run along now, I need to discuss some things with your sensei."_

_Naruto nodded, clutching the photo album to his chest as he turned to leave. Then a sudden thought crossed his mind and he stopped. "Jiji?" he asked._

_"Yes Naruto-kun?"_

"_Do you know who my father was too?"_

_There was a long pause. "Yes Naruto-kun, I know who your father was."_

_Naruto waited for the Hokage to continue on and when nothing more was said he hunched over, disappointed. "You aren't going to tell me are you?"_

_"He was a very powerful man who made a number of very dangerous enemies. When you become strong enough to protect yourself from those enemies you will learn his name, but for now the fewer people who know who he was, the safer you will be," the Hokage explained._

_Naruto scowled, angry at the Hokage's reasoning. "If I'm already in danger if someone learns about who my mother was, what difference would it make if they learned who my father was? And come on! If they learn who my mother is, won't they be able to figure out who my father is pretty easily? What the hell jiji!"_

_The Hokage took Naruto's outburst in stride and responded in a calm tone. "Your parents' relationship was a mostly private affair. Those who knew of it are either dead, or strictly loyal to Konoha," he explained. "Also, there is a very important difference between others knowing who your mother was and knowing who your father was. The knowledge of who your mother was makes you a target for kidnapping by those greedy for power. The knowledge of who your father was being made known could very well bring war to Konoha if revealed at an inopportune time. I will not recklessly endanger this village to satisfy your desires Naruto-kun."_

_Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before he hunched forward in shame. "I…I'm sorry jiji. I didn't mean to-"_

_"There is no need to apologize Naruto-kun," the Hokage interrupted him. "I can understand that you are frustrated, but there are reasons for the things I do, even if you don't immediately understand them."_

Naruto sighed. The rest of that meeting had passed rather uneventfully. He was still frustrated at his father's name being kept from him, but he'd dealt with that for years and would continue to deal with it for now. He turned his attention back to the photo album in his hands.

Kushina Uzumaki. That was his mother's name. She had long, beautiful red hair, which made him wonder again who his father had been, to give him the spiky blond hair that was so very different from his mother's. He pushed the thought aside and continued to stare at the laughing visage of the photo he was currently looking at. He'd spent nearly a quarter of an hour comparing himself to her in a mirror, looking for even a single noticeable feature he shared with her before finally latching onto one.

It was the eyes. His face seemed to have the same overall shape as his mother's, but it was the eyes that stood out to him. Hers were a much darker blue, almost violet really, but the shape was the exact same. He wondered if anyone would ridicule him if he admitted that he'd imagined her looking back at him through his reflection's eyes when he'd first noticed the resemblance.

He flipped another page and stared at the picture on it. Next to his mom in this picture was a woman with long black hair and dark grey eyes. There was something about the woman that looked familiar, but he couldn't begin to put together why. Underneath the picture was a messily written sentence.

'_Me and my bestie Mikoto!'_

Naruto wondered who this Mikoto woman was, and if she was still alive. Maybe he'd ask the old man who she was when he next got a chance.

He turned the final page of the album for the third time that night and yet again he couldn't help the bittersweet feelings that lanced through him at the sight of the final picture. His mother was pregnant in this image, her stomach distended under her clothes by the presence of his small, still growing body. What really drew his attention though was her eyes. That warm, happy look on her face that he'd seen mothers look at their children with was on _his _mother's face. He wasn't even _born _yet and she was looking at him with that wonderful look that he'd always dreamed of receiving, but had never really let himself believe in that dream.

To see that look and know that it was for him, that he had been given it _just for existing_, made him so deliriously happy that it _hurt_. He clenched the photo album to his chest as he choked out a sob and let a new round of tears spill down his cheeks.

LINE BREAK

**Author's Note: **Hmm, not a month like I'd hoped, but 3 months is at least better than 4, so I'll take what I can get. I probably could have gotten it out sooner(like a month sooner), but I lost the editing work I had done and sort of lost motivation for a bit. The good news is that Chapter 3 got about 1/3 written in the meantime.

Hmm, does it seem like I'm having the characters mature too fast? I'd like to think I've given appropriate reasons for them reacting the way they do. Chapter 698/699 are really just gems for understanding Sasuke's character.

At first I had Naruto being the one to get Team 7 to work together. And then he didn't and Sakura ended up being the one to do it. One of those moments where the characters end up doing things they want rather than doing what I'd originally planned out for them, which funnily enough is almost a direct consequence of a similar situation which I commented on in the Author's Note last chapter.

There was _a looooottt _of exposition in the tail end of this chapter, but the next chapter should swing things back towards a better focus on the action (of a sort). There were a lot of things I wanted to set up here, especially in regards to Team 7 and I'm hoping it all turns out well.

I've been rereading the Chunin Exams and I've come across a lot of _really _interesting things about several characters. First, Gaara comes across as a bit more sane then people give him credit for. He's _very_bloodthirsty, but his visible descent into crazy rambling takes a lot longer than people seem to give him credit for. Fun fact: When he kills the Ame Genin that used the senbon umbrellas during the Forest of Death, he went out of his way to pick up one of the fallen umbrellas to avoid being splattered with blood.

Second, Neji acknowledged (mentally) that Lee was strong to the point that he was surprised that Lee had been knocked out by the Sound Genin. He also cared enough about Lee (and likely his team in general) that he gets angry enough to be about to dive straight into combat with the Sound Genin until he notices Sasuke waking up with the Curse Mark chakra flowing through him. Basically, he comes across as a cocky, but semi-likable guy until his fight with Hinata reveals his fate complex and the more hate inspiring aspects of his personality really start to show.

If you can't tell, I _really _want to write the Chunin Exams, (to the point that I've already started doing some excerpts) but there are still several things that need to happen first, including but not limited to the Wave Mission. Here's to hoping my plans for it and the following consequences of those changes will go well.

Posted 5/22/15


	4. 3: A Gentle Push

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_

**Chapter 3: A Gentle Push**

Kakashi watched Naruto as the boy sat in front of the Memorial Stone. This was the second time in the one week since he'd passed his cute little genin that he'd found the boy here, talking to his mother. He made sure to maintain a healthy distance from Naruto, just far enough so that he couldn't hear what the boy's words. It was partially out of respect for Naruto's privacy and partially because of the boy's newfound capacity as a sensor.

And hadn't that been a whole new can of worms. After pulling Naruto aside after their first D-Rank mission and asking him how exactly he'd known where he was underground during the Bell Test, Kakashi had gone directly to the Hokage. He'd never once heard of a sensory techniques that keyed in on emotion rather than chakra, let alone one that seemed to hone in on strong negative emotions specifically.

The Hokage had looked at him in that way that reminded Kakashi just how old the man was, before starting a conversation that rather quickly turned into a brief history of the Kyūbi's involvement with Konoha. In that short time Kakashi learned no less than _three _S-Rank secrets, bringing his total to an unhealthy six, all of which could be at least tangentially related to the Kyūbi.

In short, Naruto's sensory ability was called Negative Emotions Sensing and he had presumably gained the ability as a product of the Kyūbi's chakra leaking through the seal and into his chakra network. In as far as the ability was understood, it allowed the user to sense and locate the source of hostile intent, though whether or not it was _only _hostile intent it keyed in on and not simply negative emotions in general was unknown. The reason the Sandaime knew of this ability was because Naruto was _not _the first Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi in Konoha. Instead, it had been the honorable Mito Uzumaki who had served as the demon's first container, having sealed it within herself following the Shodai's infamous battle with Madara Uchiha at the now dubbed Valley of the End.

Of course, the honorable Mito had died around two decades prior to Naruto's birth, which lead to the question of who had contained the beast in the interim. It had to be a person too. The Kyūbi's chakra was apparently far too potent to keep it sealed away in an inanimate object, unless said object was unimaginably powerful. Rumor had it that Kumo kept the Hachibi sealed in a relic from the age of the fabled Sage of the Six Paths in between hosts, which theoretically meant it might be able to seal the Kyūbi. Of course those were only rumors and Konoha had an unfortunate lack of powerful, ancient artifacts to seal a Bijū into which made the point pretty much moot.

Kakashi found himself feeling a great deal less surprised than he'd thought he'd be when he learned that the second Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi was none other than Kushina Uzumaki. In hindsight, it made the way her hair floated and split into _nine _"tails" when she got angry far more foreboding yet simultaneously humorous.

Now Kakashi could proudly admit that he knew a decent amount about fūinjutsu. His sensei had been the Yondaime, a veritable fūinjutsu master, and he'd have to have been completely oblivious, or Obito, to not pick up at least some passing knowledge of the arcane art. As a result of this, Kakashi knew that one of the reasons seals that were _properly _placed on the human body didn't begin to degrade over time was that they drew upon the latent chakra produced by the body to maintain their integrity. He also knew that this was the reason seals on a pregnant kunoichi's body tended break down sometime during the pregnancy. The chakra maintaining the seals was instead used by the body to help nourish and protect the growing child.

Generally this wasn't too big of a deal. In the case of a pregnant Jinchūriki though, the situation became exponentially more dangerous, especially when the Bijū they contained happened to be the Kyūbi. At first glance, this explained how the tragedy that was the Kyūbi attack had occurred, assuming one knew about Kushina's status.

Closer inspection proved otherwise of course. Minato was a _genius fūinjutsu master _who went to almost ludicrous extremes to ensure the safety of those he loved, and he'd only gotten more paranoid about it after Obito's and Rin's deaths. It was a small wonder Kakashi hadn't been permanently tattooed with a Hiraishin seal marker after Rin's death and he would bet every mask he owned _and _his complete collection of signed, first edition Icha Icha material that Minato would have spent every spare moment pouring over every note and detail of Kushina's seal in preparation for Naruto's birth. The only possible reason Kakashi could fathom his sensei failing to maintain the Kyūbi's seal was if there had been interference from a third party.

Of course that was _exactly _what the evidence pointed towards. First, not only had the safe house Minato had prepared exploded, but the area had also lacked any noticeable residue of the Kyūbi's chakra. Not to mention that autopsies of the honorable Biwako and the ANBU bodies recovered revealed that they'd been assassinated prior to the explosion. Also, the Kyūbi had been quite literally appeared in Konoha in massive a cloud of smoke that resembled the results of a large summoning. Finally, Minato had appeared on the battlefield briefly and then disappeared again for nearly ten minutes before appearing again to teleport the Kyūbi away from the village. Kakashi knew that it shouldn't have taken his sensei anywhere near that long to prepare the sealing under normal circumstances, which suggested that he'd had to deal with fending off whoever had loosed the Kyūbi on the village in the first place.

The thing was, there was absolutely no trace of the supposed interloper left behind at any of the apparent battlefields, which meant that they had been strong enough that Minato had only been able to drive them away. In short, that meant that whoever had been responsible for the Kyūbi attack all those years ago was still at large. It also meant that Naruto needed to be stronger and he needed to be stronger _yesterday_ if he had any hope of surviving a confrontation with that person if they ever decided that they wanted the Kyūbi again. Kakashi would have been furious with the Hokage for letting Naruto waste his years in the Academy fooling around if he didn't know that the most likely alternative might have been ROOT.

He would have never forgiven himself if Naruto becoming strong had meant becoming an emotionless drone under the command of that one eyed extremist.

If Kakashi were to be completely honest with himself, he'd still been wary about the whole teaching thing before learning and deducing all of this. He'd been called a genius and a prodigy while growing up, but the one thing he excelled at above all else was in being a coward. It was why he'd shamefully stayed away from Naruto during the boy's childhood even though he was the son of the man who had nearly been a second father to him. It was why he hadn't tried to be there for Sasuke after his clan had been slaughtered even though he owed it to Obito, especially after he'd failed to protect Rin. Hell, he'd probably still be burying himself in ANBU mission work if it hadn't been for the direct order of the Sandaime.

He couldn't afford to be that coward any longer. It was already bad enough that Sasuke seemed only a step and a half away from losing himself in his need for revenge, but now he had to worry about some madman who possibly had the power to stand toe to toe with the Yondaime going after Naruto as well. He also had to worry about how Sakura might handle being thrown into the absolute shit storm her teammates were liable to attract. Standing back and letting his genin grow at their own pace while he remained safely distant with his well-honed mask of aloofness simply wasn't an option anymore, no matter how much it might hurt to risk opening those old wounds again…

The only problem with his grand plan to make his cute little genin into rampaging terrors on the battlefield was that he had almost no idea where to start. Before his informative meeting with the Hokage, his plan had been to run D-Rank missions to build a solid foundation for teamwork between them before really getting into anything further than the miscellaneous skills and knowledge they'd be expected to know that may or may not have been covered during their time in the Academy. Even after that meeting he was still rather set on that plan, though on a faster track.

He'd like to think that plan was justified too. The teamwork his cute little genin had displayed during the tail end of the bell test had practically gone up in smoke during their foray into D-Rank missions. Sasuke and Naruto got into fights over the littlest things while Sakura either attempted to ignore them or berated Naruto depending on who seemed to have started the fight. He was a bit disappointed in her blatant favoritism towards Sasuke, but he could at least give her props for not ganging up on Naruto when her crush was the primary aggressor.

And then, yesterday, they'd gotten the infamous Tora mission. Their teamwork had remained as abysmal as it had been for the rest of that week, right up until the moment Tora first made a fool of them all. After that it was as if a switch had been flipped and the teamwork they'd displayed during the Bell Test came back full force.

It was sort of uncanny actually, how well they could work together for a team of genin who'd been together for barely a week. Naruto seemed to have a surprisingly keen sense for knowing how and when Sasuke or Sakura were going to act and Kakashi wondered if that was due to some unknown quirk of Negative Emotions Sensing. Then again, Sasuke showed signs of that intuition as well, which Kakashi wasn't quite sure how to explain.

Sakura was the only one who seemed entirely normal in that regard, but she managed to get by on slipping into the role of filling in wherever Naruto or Sasuke ended up leaving open. It wasn't a perfect display of running support, but it was passable for a newly graduated genin.

Regardless, it was proof enough for him that when his team set their mind to it they could work in tandem surprisingly well for fresh graduates. It would have been better if that was their first response, but Kakashi figured he could use their first C-Rank mission or two to work it into their skulls that teamwork should be the first response to every situation, regardless of how mundane it might seem.

"Now all I need to do is figure out what exactly to teach them," Kakashi muttered to himself as he let himself be partially soothed by the morning breeze running through his hair. "Hmm…I suppose chakra control is a necessary skill for all shinobi to learn. Oh and I could test their awareness like Minato-sensei did when he taught us those exercises. And there's no better time to improve one's taijutsu than when you're learning to walk on water. Oh! It looks like Naruto is just finishing up now. I wonder if Obito will have any advice for me."

* * *

><p>Sakura stared up in unconcealed amazement as Kakashi hung upside down from a tree branch, casually defying the laws of physics. <strong>'How in the hell does he still manage to look like the laziest bastard in the world while <strong>**_walking sideways up a tree_****?'**

"Alright you little cuties, now it's your turn to try!"

Sakura grit her teeth and prepared to send her chakra to her feet. She clenched the kunai she would use for marking her progress, then glanced at Sasuke and Naruto and saw them prepping themselves in a similar manner.

"You know if you all just want to stand there all day I'm sure the Hokage would be glad to give us the Tora mission again if it's available," Kakashi called out from his perch.

All three of them bolted forwards instantly at the threat. Sakura sent a small amount of chakra to the soles of her feet just as she reached the tree and took one vertical step. Then she took another, and another, and another and before she realized it she was running out of tree to climb. She curled around the trunk and sat herself down on a branch.

She took a few deep breaths, not because she was tired, but because the experience had been exhilarating. She couldn't believe how easy it had been, with her chakra responding to her beck and call like it was the most natural thing in the world. Sure the Academy Three had been easy for her to learn, but there was just something about tree walking that was far more exciting.

She looked down below to check on Naruto's and Sasuke's progress and was surprised to see both of them on the ground. She knew now that Naruto's chakra control was abysmal for reasons that were at least somewhat out of his control, but somewhere along the way Sasuke's status as Rookie of the Year had translated into 'best at everything'.

"Hey guys! How's it going down there!" she called out, feeling uncharacteristically cocky. **'Hell yeah! Sakura Haruno is number one this time! Take that!'** It _was_ pretty awesome, she realized, to have something that she was undoubtedly best at in this team. Even though she'd been taking steps to find something she could learn to truly make herself a place in Team Seven, she was still feeling a bit melancholy over how ineffectual she felt she had been during the Bell Test.

She halfheartedly listened to what Kakashi was saying to motivate Sasuke and Naruto to keep working at the exercise while she contemplated the various ideas she'd come up with while at the library during her free time in the past week.

"-kura. Sakura!" She glanced up so quickly that she very nearly fell off the branch she was standing on. After she steadied herself she finally took note of Kakashi waving at her. "Come over here Sakura."

After a moment's hesitation, Sakura leapt to a branch adjacent to her sensei's position and turned to face him. "What is it Kakashi-sensei?"

"Ah, well you see the thing is I wasn't actually expecting any of you to get the exercise down so quickly. Your chakra control is a good deal ahead of the curve, and you've left me in a bit of a predicament," Kakashi explained. "The next exercise I had planned works best when there are more than two people and it's just not the same if everybody involved can't perform tree walking." The wistful tone in the masked man's voice immediately put Sakura on guard. Even after only a week under his tutelage Team Seven had collectively learned that that tone of voice was generally a precursor to a particularly demeaning or menial task.

"So what does that mean for me?" Sakura asked, barely keeping the tremor out of her voice as memories of the Tora mission flashed through her mind. She still thought Kakashi had been lying through his teeth when he said the cat had no formal shinobi training. Sure, the cat was docile enough once it was in her arms, but when it was loose she swore it had to be part demon or something.

"It means that you have two options at the moment," Kakashi said, in a surprisingly serious voice. "You can either progress directly to the next chakra control exercise _or _you can tell me here and now if there's anything specific you want to learn during your time as a genin and we'll see if it's within my ability to get you the tools necessary to do that."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You mean, you'd really?"

"Until the day you are no longer a genin under my command, regardless of how that relationship terminates, it will be my job as a sensei to ensure that you have the tools at your disposal to develop as a kunoichi in the way you so desire so long as it is of benefit to both Konoha and your team," Kakashi explained.

"Oh," Sakura said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. Even though she'd seen this side of her sensei before after Team Seven had passed the bell test, it was still hard to reconcile the lazy, unassuming man who read smut (she most decidedly did _not _know what that small orange book consisted of because she'd stumbled upon her parents' own poorly hidden copy) in public with the serious jōnin he could be. **'He's still sort of a bastard though!'** "I uh, I was hoping to learn…" she looked down at her feet nervously, "…fūinjutsu."

Several long seconds passed by without an answer from Kakashi as Sakura shifted nervously on her perch and continued to stare at her feet. Finally, the tension became too much. "I'm sorry!" she blurted out. "I should have known that that would be too much to ask. I mean, I've read that you need a specialized tutor to even get started because no one has ever wanted to risk putting directions down on something anyone might get ahold of, and asking something like that of you after you've only been our sensei for a week might sound like I'm ungrateful and I-"

Sakura was cut off by a firm hand on her shoulder. She glanced up in surprise into the one eyed gaze of her sensei. "There's no need to apologize Sakura," Kakashi reassured her. "I was simply…surprised at your choice. I am curious though, as to why you chose something as delicate and complex as the art of fūinjutsu. It takes a very specific mindset to excel in and incredible skill to apply it effectively in battle is something only an exceptional few have ever managed."

"I, I know that, but I," she bit her lower lip nervously before taking a deep breath and drawing herself to her, admittedly unimpressive, full height. "I want to have something that makes me more than just the hanger on of Team Seven. Sasuke's already a genius, and even though Naruto is pretty bad at almost everything, he has shadow clones. If he actually masters that jutsu and becomes even half decent at everything else…especially with how he barely seems to notice when he uses a lot of chakra…" she trailed off.

"And then there's me," Sakura began again. "The only thing that makes me stand out from the average person is that I'm supposed to be the smartest kunoichi of my graduating class, but I don't have a single thing to show for that."

"And that's where fūinjutsu comes in?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed, beginning to feel excited now her sensei hadn't immediately shot down her reasoning. "I mean, it's not like I've really been able to study it at all, but from what I've read it sounds like it's one giant logic puzzle where you know what shape you want to make, but have to figure out pieces you need to use to build it, and sometimes if you slightly change which pieces you use to make the shape you can affect how the whole process works. And, and-"

Sakura cut off abruptly when she realized she'd started rambling. She felt her cheeks heat up as she glanced at her sensei, hoping she hadn't overdone it. Her embarrassment was immediately replaced by concern as she took note of the wistful expression on his face. "Kakashi-sensei?"

He seemed to become aware of himself again at the sound of her voice. "Oh, I'm sorry Sakura. You just…reminded me of someone. He used to go on and on about the newest bit fūinjutsu he'd been working on with the same kind of enthusiasm."

Sakura perked up at that. "Oh! Does that mean that he might be able to-"

"No." Kakashi cut her off so suddenly that she barely had time to register her indignation before she noticed that his gaze had drifted towards something in the distance. She turned to follow his gaze and froze when a familiar black monument entered her view. She whirled back around to apologize only to be silenced prematurely by a single finger pressed against her lips. "There's no need to apologize Sakura. You couldn't have realized. And no, I won't tell you who it was," Kakashi cut her off again as he removed the finger from her lips. "Of course that doesn't mean that you can't try to figure it out for yourself," he said, the edges of his eye crinkling in a way Sakura had come to realize meant he was smiling. "Gathering information is a very important skill for shinobi to excel in."

Sakura was caught between admiring her sensei's method for getting her interested in some additional personal training and annoyance that he wouldn't just give her a straight answer. **'Stupid masked bastard being all evasive and subtle to make us increase our skills…'**

"Now on the topic of your desire to become a budding fūinjutsu specialist, you're in luck," Kakashi said. "I happen to be moderately proficient in the art myself, so you won't need to find yourself a supplementary tutor."

Sakura took a moment to process what Kakashi had just said before her face lit up with excitement. She opened up her mouth to exclaim her thanks when he cut her off yet again.

"I need you to understand something Sakura," her sensei began in a grave tone. "This isn't going to be as simple as poring over a book and making sure every stroke of the brush is neat and methodical. Those exceptional shinobi I mentioned? They weren't exceptional because they were fūinjutsu masters. They were exceptional because whenever they applied fūinjutsu in battle, it made their already impressive skills several magnitudes stronger. You want to stand on level with what you believe Sasuke will become, what you think Naruto _might _become? Then prepare yourself for a living hell Sakura. I will work you to exhaustion, till the only thing you want to do is just drop where you are and sleep. Then while you're resting I'll make you decipher and write your own fūinjutsu patterns until your eyes ache."

Sakura barely repressed the urge to flinch away as Kakashi leaned in close. "Every day will be the day you tell yourself you want to quit and it will only get worse when you reach the end of what little I'll be able to teach you. That will be the moment you truly learn whether or not all the effort you've put into your studies will have been a waste or not."

"What do you mean sensei?" Sakura asked, feeling her confidence wane even further under the weight of Kakashi's declarations.

"What I mean is that for all I've been called a genius of almost no parallel in my generation, there was a point in which I simply hit a wall when I was learning the art. It's the barrier that separates those who do nothing more than memorize the layout of the seals they use and those who can create a seal on the fly. To truly understand and master the art of fūinjutsu means you must be able to step beyond that barrier between learning and creating. Do you truly want to spend the time it takes to reach that point on the chance that you won't be able to break through to the other side?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura stared into the man's one visible eye as she contemplated his words. Did she really have what it took? Could she put forward the kind of effort Kakashi was saying it would take on the off chance that even after all that effort she might find herself stuck at the meager position of merely proficient? She thought back to the bell test, where a single one of Naruto's shadow clones might have been able to replace her for the final confrontation and get nearly the same results. Then she thought to the Tora mission, where she'd done her best to fill in the gaps of the two boys' almost unnaturally competent teamwork.

Where would that leave her when she wasn't needed to fill the gaps? Was she destined to become nothing more than an extra when that time came? **'No!' **Would she be relegated to simply watching from the sidelines? **'I refuse to be nothing more than a spectator!' **She'd been so certain she was a competent shinobi. She'd been so certain that even though she knew she couldn't possibly match up to Sasuke, she was certainly better than the dead last Naruto who had been put on the team a weaker one from being dragged down. She'd thought that meant she was an exceptional shinobi. **'We are, dammit!'**

Could she even keep up with the tortuous regimen that Kakashi was saying he'd put her through? Was she really willing to face that kind of exhaustion on a regular basis?

**"YES!"**

Sakura blinked in surprise, not immediately recognizing that it had been her voice that had spoken that last thought aloud. She glanced up at Kakashi and just barely caught the tail end of a shocked expression, before it morphed into something she was hesitant to label as approval.

"Well it's good to see you're sure about this," Kakashi said. "I suppose the first order of business would be get you settled with your basic necessities. Let's go then."

"Now?" Sakura asked, once again shocked by how proactive a role Kakashi seemed to be taking after the incredibly hands off approach he'd been using for the past week. "I mean, what about Sasuke-kun and Naruto?"

"Naruto and Sasuke are big boys and can handle something as simple as tree climbing without adult supervision," Kakashi reassured her. "I'll let them know we'll be leaving for a bit and then we'll be on our way." With that said he leapt down from the tree. After a moment of hesitation Sakura followed, though she chose to walk down its side instead. She did it mostly because there really was something exhilarating about feeling her chakra dancing almost perfectly to her beck and call, but she'd be lying if she said didn't get a bit of a thrill from showing off as well.

"Whad'ya mean Sakura-chan's gonna get extra training? What about me and this stupid bastard?" she heard Naruto cry out as she reached the ground. **'Cha! Who does he think he is, calling our precious Sasuke-kun a bastard? I oughta beat him over the head for that!' **Sure, Naruto sorta-maybe-possibly wasn't quite as bad as she'd once thought he was, and it was a relief that he'd suddenly gone and cut down on how many times a day he asked her for a date or bugged her over the most trivial things, but that still didn't excuse him from talking to Sasuke that way! She was about to walk up and show him exactly what she thought of his language when she was stopped by a hand coming to rest on her head.

"Now, now Naruto," Kakashi said from beside her. "I'm sure once you've learned how to climb trees you'll be ready to do something a bit more challenging. I suppose if you really wanted to you could join us though. I'm sure you'd love to learn the fine art of calligraphy."

Sakura frowned. He wasn't really suggesting?

"Calli-what-now?" Naruto asked, a confused scowl adorning his face.

"Calligraphy idiot," Sasuke answered before Kakashi could explain. "It's the art of writing in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Or rather, it's learning how to write so it looks nice," he further explained, presumably to cut off what would most likely be Naruto asking what 'aesthetically' meant. Sakura felt heat rise in her cheeks as Sasuke's gaze turned on her, his eyes seeming to search her expression for any hint as to what Kakashi was teaching her that would require neat handwriting.

Conversation continued for a bit longer, during which time Sakura realized that her sensei's seemingly veiled invitation to Naruto to learn fūinjutsu alongside her had actually been a subtle way of dissuading him from attempting to learn as well. She was only confused as to why Kakashi would take such a roundabout method of doing so for as long as it took her to realize that Naruto would probably just take a direct denial as a challenge to figure it out on his own, which could end less than pleasantly for everyone involved. From what she'd read, fūinjutsu required a great deal of caution and restraint during the learning process, something that Naruto was sorely lacking in. Sakura might not have liked Naruto all that much, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear that he'd gone and blown his arm off trying to recreate something he probably wouldn't understand in the slightest.

"I wasn't lying about the calligraphy bit you know," Kakashi spoke up as they finally began to leave. "It wouldn't do for you to have something blow up in your face or simply not work at all because your handwriting was sloppy."

"Right," Sakura nodded. It made perfect sense. If her seals weren't working right because her handwriting was off she'd probably get herself, and possibly others killed.

"Good to see you understand. Now do try to keep up," Kakashi said as he dashed away.

Sakura froze for a moment as she stared uncomprehendingly at her sensei's quickly shrinking figure, before she bolted after him. It wasn't long before she was running at a full sprint, straining to ensure that the man didn't disappear from sight. As her muscles began to burn under the strain of keeping up with Kakashi, Sakura felt a sinking sensation in her stomach as she realized that this kind of situation was likely going to become her routine.

**'That stupid, masked bastard won't know what hit him. I'm going to stick him in a box! I'm going to stick him in a ****_small_**** box and seal the fucking thing closed! And only his head is going to be allowed to stay out so everyone can mock him for getting stuck in a fucking box!'**

* * *

><p>As Team Eight exited the Hokage's tower after turning in their successful D-rank mission for the day, Kurenai watched her team interact from her position behind them. Hinata remained withdrawn as she listened to Kiba ramble on about something to do with the differences between regular dogs and ninken. To their left, Shino didn't appear to be paying attention to the one sided conversation, but it could be hard to tell when it came to the Aburame clan.<p>

For not the first time, Kurenai found herself ruminating over the three genin she'd been handed just a week ago. She'd been confused but pleased when she'd been among those chosen to take on a genin team. Having her own team had been one of the things she'd been looking forward to from the moment she was awarded the rank of jōnin, but it was considered rare to receive a team as early as she had. Then she'd learned exactly who her team was to consist of and she'd gone from confused straight into silently wondering if the Sandaime had begun to go senile.

She had a team consisting of three genin who could theoretically be the leaders of their clans, two of which hailed from the noble clans of Konoha. She hadn't even been a jōnin for a full year yet and she had been tasked to train and protect children who could very well become a vital part of the political foundation of Konoha in the next ten to fifteen years. This revelation had led to Kurenai being far tenser in her initial meeting with the genin than she'd have preferred and it was just her luck that said children all had the necessary skills drilled into them by their clans for them to pick up on that.

Shino had responded to it by remaining closed off, Kiba decided that it was open season to test the boundaries of her leadership and Hinata, the poor girl, had acted as though she thought the entire situation was all her fault. Shino's and Kiba's attitudes were at the very least something she could work through given enough time for everyone to get comfortable with each other, but Hinata's attitude was concerning. That the girl had assumed fault with so little to suggest it hinted at a dangerous penchant for self-deprecation and deep seated issues with poor self-esteem.

Of course, if Kurenai had thought it was bad during their first meeting, the second time she met with Hinata had truly opened her eyes to how badly off the girl was. Kurenai respected Hiashi Hyūga for his prowess as a ninja. She tentatively respected his position as the head of his clan. As a man and a father though, Kurenai could honestly say that she unequivocally _loathed _the man.

For Hiashi to have stated that his eldest daughter and heir was useless to the clan and indirectly state that he _did not care _if Hinata got herself killed while out on a mission had been despicable. For him to have stated this all _knowing _that Hinata had been well within hearing distance, and Kurenai didn't believe for one second that the man hadn't known, made him little more than trash in her eyes.

The only thing Kurenai thought was even marginally good about the situation was that the man hadn't made mention of anything pertaining to an "honorable" death. Hinata's problems seemed numerous enough as it was, and she most definitely didn't need "potentially suicidal" added to the list.

The days following that incident had been tense. Having had her already fragile confidence in herself ground to dust by her father's words, Hinata had been so full of self-doubt that it had affected her ability to the point that she had nearly caused the failure of several _D-Rank _missions. By some unknown miracle, both Kiba and Shino had been surprisingly supportive of the girl. Kiba was a bit insensitive and Shino was hard to read most days, but neither seemed to hold Hinata's faults against her.

The jōnin could only hope that having what seemed to be a supportive environment in Team Eight could help the girl. Kurenai wasn't sure how well Hinata would respond to extra positive reinforcement or praise, and the girl was perceptive enough that if praise was handed out simply to raise her spirits, it might very well destroy any trust she had for her team.

Hinata seemed to have a desire to grow past her weakness and had taken up staying behind and training even after Kurenai dismissed them each day, but the woman wasn't sure if it was helping or not. The girl would train herself until her palms left bloody stains on the post, yet no matter how long she worked at it, Hinata always seemed to reach a point where her willpower seemed to simply peter out. She'd curl into herself and simply sit there looking miserable.

Kurenai had considered approaching Hinata during these moments, but a part of her was wary that it wasn't her place to try and step in and interfere. Another part of her was unsure whether this was something Hinata had to get through on her own, and was hesitant to extend a hand and drive the girl's confidence in herself even lower.

Not to mention that Kiba was still testing his boundaries and might take any sign of favoritism as an excuse to act out. Her team could work together, but it was less true teamwork and more that Kiba was prone to take charge immediately, and Shino was still too socially awkward or reluctant to successfully contest his teammate's choices before Hinata simply followed Kiba's lead due to her lack of self-confidence.

Kurenai's train of thought was cut off as she overheard a particularly loud outburst from down the street. "Oh yeah? I bet I could totally find them way faster than you if I used my Shadow Clones you stuck up bastard!"

She watched as the owner of the voice was revealed to be one infamous Naruto Uzumaki. Kurenai's opinion of the boy was mostly undecided. With her rudimentary knowledge of fūinjutsu, she liked to think that she knew well enough that someone with skills as legendary as the Yondaime's would be capable of creating a more than adequate seal to hold back the Kyūbi. She didn't particularly like the boy, but most of what she knew of him was by reputation, and Kurenai liked to think she was a sensible person who didn't judge a person solely on hearsay.

Kurenai's attention was caught by the way Hinata almost immediately perked up as Naruto and his companion, one Sasuke Uchiha, came more prominently into view. Kurenai continued to watch curiously as the young girl's gaze followed the two as they came closer and a light blush lit up her cheeks.

"Oi, Naruto!" Kiba called out. Naruto stopped mid tirade and turned to face their group. His angry demeanor turned jovial as he changed course to approach them while Sasuke trailed leisurely after him with an exasperated look on his face.

"Hey there Hinata! How's it going? Is your team's sensei any good? I mean, they've got to be better than Kakashi-sensei 'cause sometimes he is just the laziest, no good bastard ever," the boy rattled off. Kurenai quirked an eyebrow at the boy's blatant disrespect for his sensei and wondered if he realized she was standing there.

"Oh, h-hello Naruto-kun. It's going, um, well and Kurenai-sensei is a b-bit strict, but she's very kind," Hinata answered.

"Oi, Naruto! You just going to ignore the guy who actually called you over?" Kiba asked.

Kurenai watched on as Naruto turned with an annoyed look towards the other boy. "I don't see why not," he said. "Hinata's way cooler and more interesting than you'll ever be dog breath!"

Kurenai wasn't sure what was more noteworthy, the fact that Kiba seemed so completely flabbergasted by Naruto's blatant disrespect that the expected angry comeback failed to coalesce, or that Hinata seemed to have actually straightened up a small amount from her more standard fretful slouching, regardless of the cherry red blush covering her face.

Naruto turned away from Kiba and continued to speak as though there had never been an interruption. "So how have the missions been for you Hinata? Have you gotten anything more interesting than those crappy D-Ranks? I mean they're so boooring! I mean, I guess they pay ok, but I didn't become a shinobi to chase some crazy lady's crazy cat!"

"W-well, Team Eight has only, um, gotten D-Ranks as well and they're…n-not so bad. I mean…" Kurenai frowned as the girl trailed off and shrank into herself, presumably remembering the various fumbles and mistakes she'd made over the last week. Naruto seemed to notice something was wrong as well and he crouched slightly to look into Hinata's downcast eyes with a worried expression on his face.

"Hinata…you ok?" he asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

Hinata jerked in surprise and began to ramble off denials. "N-no, I mean yes! I mean, um, you d-don't need to b-bother yourself over it Naru-waahhh!" She cried out as Naruto grabbed her by the sleeve of her jacket and began dragging her away. "N-Naruto-kun, what are you d-doing!"

"We're going to Ichiraku's!"

"B-but what about-"

"No buts! Ichiraku's ramen makes everyone feel better!"

Hinata looked back at Kurenai with an expression that made the woman question whether the girl was requesting permission or pleading for rescue. Making a split second decision, Kurenai gave Hinata a subtle gesture of dismissal while a knowing smirk curled her lips. She was rewarded with the sight of Hinata's already red blush spreading from her cheeks to across her entire face, though her posture relaxed considerably and her half-hearted resistance to Naruto's attempts to drag her away ceased.

"Sensei, are you sure it was wise to allow something so disruptive to our duties?" Shino asked, speaking up for the first time since the encounter had started.

"We've already performed a mission for the day," Kurenai replied, "and I was going to suggest we break for lunch anyways." She paused for a moment, raising a hand to her chin in contemplation. "Though I was wondering… Was there anything between those two during your time at the Academy?"

"While I cannot say I know when or why it started," Shino began to reply immediately. "Hinata-san focused a great deal of her attention on Uzumaki-san when she was not focused on her studies. I would hypothesize that she sees Uzumaki-san as a viable suitor, but as her actions do not line up with what I have determined to be the standard behavior preteen girls seem to partake in when confronted with the object of their desire, I cannot say for certain. In addition, I find myself surprised by his most recent actions. Why? Because I am not aware that he ever reciprocated her attention in any significant manner during our years at The Academy."

Once again Kurenai was reminded of Shino's below average understanding of interpersonal relationships. She had a feeling the boy's childhood had been nearly as lonely as she believed Hinata's to have been, sans the abusive home situation. Aburames were generally reserved and calculating in most everything they did, but Shino seemed less well equipped interacting with non-clan members than her previous experience with other Aburame would have suggested.

"Shino's right…probably. I might have lost a bit in translation," Kiba chipped in after a moment's hesitation. "The only girl Naruto ever really paid much attention to during The Academy was Sakura. I always thought he was a little weirded out by Hinata because she always got so nervous around him."

"Apparently something happened between those two during the day we had team assignments." The three remaining members of Team Eight turned to look at Sasuke, most of whom had forgotten he was there. "Stupid idiot just completely forgot that we were looking for Kakashi and Sakura." Sasuke sighed. "Dammit, I don't have time for this." The boy tilted his head marginally in Kurenai's direction before taking to the rooftops and darting away.

"Huh, I guess that explains why they came to class together that day," Kiba said as Sasuke disappeared from sight.

Kurenai took a moment to file away that newest piece of information as she put together a plan of action. "Alright then," she said. "We'll break for lunch like I was planning and meet up at the usual training ground in one hour. I'll make sure Hinata knows, so you don't need to worry about her." She waited just long enough for the two boys to nod an affirmative before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

><p>Naruto paused a moment in his voracious assault on the contents of his ramen bowl to glance over at Hinata. To his growing distress, it seemed that she was largely immune to the feel good effects of a hot bowl of Ichiraku's ramen. She'd done little more than aimlessly twirl her chopsticks through the broth and slurp up a meager portion of noodles every few minutes while Naruto felt a stifling feeling of melancholy emanate from her in waves.<p>

He glanced back at his mostly empty second bowl, before setting down his chopsticks and turning to face Hinata more properly. She startled at the sudden movement and turned to face him in return, though her eyes refused to meet his for more than a moment.

"N-Naru-"

"Are you ok Hinata?" he interrupted.

"W-wha- I, um…n-yes! I mean…y-you don't have to b-bother yourself over it Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered out.

"It's not a bother, really," Naruto said. "I mean, I'm probably not the best to ask about the dos and don'ts of being friends, but I do know that they're supposed to help each other right?"

Hinata shook her head. "Y-you don't….I'm n-not…I'll only drag y-you down if I'm your f-friend. I'm…" her voice cracked, "I'm just a f-failure…I…I c-can't even do a D Rank m-mission without screwing it up. I-I'm no good at my c-clan's techniques and I c-can't even beat my y-younger sister in a spar." Naruto was frozen stiff as stifling feelings of melancholy he'd been feeling from her began warp into something heavier and far more sinister. The worse it got, the more familiar it became and he felt like he was almost suffocating by the time he'd finally identified the corrosive, heavy weight of self-loathing. Combined with the almost desperate concern the _other _was feeling, it was pushing him closer and closer to his breaking point.

"I'm n-not a person who d-deserves to be friends w-with someone l-like y-"

"STOP IT!"

Hinata jerked and her expression became one of pure shock as Naruto slammed down his hands on her shoulders and latched onto them in a vicelike grip.

"W-wha-"

"You're not allowed!"

Hinata's expression morphed into one of confusion. "I'm n-not-"

"Right! You're not allowed to do that to yourself! You're not allowed to hate yourself!"

Her eyes widened at his statement. "B-but-"

"No! You aren't worthless and you aren't allowed to decide whether or not we should be friends over something like that!"

"B-but I'm just a f-failure who always g-gives up," Hinata countered weakly, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Then you won't give up anymore!" Naruto countered back.

"H…how c-can you be so s-sure?" the girl asked, sounding almost desperate for an answer.

Naruto was suddenly reminded of how he'd felt during those few minutes after he'd learned about the Kyūbi, but before he'd heard Iruka express his belief in him. He remembered that desperate need for someone to tell him it wasn't true, that he wasn't that evil monster everybody despised.

Naruto let his hands fall off Hinata's shoulders, and the way she turned away from him, as though she expected him to reject her, made an indescribable pain bloom in his chest that was echoed by the _other_. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Because," Hinata turned back to face him at the sound of his voice. "Because you already have that strength. You just need to believe in yourself." Naruto wasn't sure why he felt so certain of this. It was almost like when he felt the _other's _emotions, but there was something about the feeling that reminded him more of an _echo_. "Because you said that you think I'm strong, that you believe in me, not because I get it right, but because I don't give up when I fail. So now I'll be the one to believe in you." He felt the unmistakable feeling of an _echo _wash over him and his next words seemed to roll off his tongue in the same way they had when he'd declared his intent to protect his precious people.

_"In my eyes you're a-  
><em>"So together we'll be-

_-proud failure!"  
><em>-proud failures!"

Naruto's attention was briefly diverted as he tried his best to keep ahold of those words of Hinata's that he was sure she'd never spoken to him. Just like all the previous times though, the words slipped away like water through his fingers and there was nothing left but indecipherable murmuring and this indescribable feeling of joy and a welling up of confidence that he couldn't explain.

A sniffling sound brought his awareness back to the present. He saw that Hinata had dipped her face forward so that her bangs hid her eyes. Naruto was confused as to what she was doing until something that sounded like a cross between a hiccup and a whimper came out of her mouth. Naruto felt the beginnings of panic creep into him as he realized what was about to happen, but before he could begin to flounder about in an attempt to keep Hinata from crying, a movement from out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

The ramen shop owner's daughter, Ayame, stopped waving her hands as he looked her way and began to make an odd circling gesture with her arms. Naruto gave her a confused look, completely dumbfounded by her actions. Ayame covered her face in exasperation for a moment before pointing at Hinata with a very firm gesture, then making the circling gesture with her arms again. This time however, she also slid her arms together, as though she was drawing something in.

Naruto looked back at Hinata before his arms began to raise hesitantly. He glanced up at Ayame again, who made an impatient gesture towards the girl. In a panic, Naruto swiftly grabbed Hinata and pulled her into an awkward hug. She let out a gasp and stiffened in his arms as the sudden action pulled her off her stool and onto her feet. Naruto looked back at Ayame worriedly, who simply made a rubbing motion with one of her hands. After a moment of hesitation, he began to rub Hinata's back.

Ever so slowly, Hinata's body began to relax in his arms. Her arms rose at a slow pace and hesitantly wrapped around his torso until he felt her fingers clutch at his jacket, followed by her burying her head into the crook of his neck. Then, much to Naruto's once again rising panic, he felt Hinata begin to tremble in his arms and make sad little gasping and whimpering sounds that were accompanied by a wet feeling on his neck.

He threw a desperate look at Ayame, who simply gave him a consoling look and a thumbs up. Biting his lip worriedly, but figuring that the older girl understood the situation better than he did, he turned his attention back to Hinata.

He could feel the thick, oppressive weight of misery emanating from the girl in his arms, but to his surprise it seemed to be gradually dissipating. It was as though it bled out of Hinata bit by bit through every tear she shed. Eventually, Naruto felt her trembling cease and the soft whimpers and sobs faded into silence and the oppressive misery that he had been feeling had faded to the point that he could barely feel it at the edge of his senses.

Several moments passed and Naruto began to feel flustered as Hinata showed no signs of letting go. Physical contact was something he had experience with. Between sparring and getting into plenty of fights over the years he'd had plenty of experience with touch. He wasn't used to this kind of touch though. Sure, he might receive the occasional rub on the head, or maybe even an arm around the shoulder, but that was rare, and hugs were rarer still.

It wasn't that he disliked it. Hinata's body felt pleasantly warm and soft in his arms. It was more the fact that someone was willing to partake in and receive comfort from this kind of contact with him and it left Naruto feeling oddly giddy, and more than a little out of his depth.

Eventually, Hinata released her grip on his jacket and brought her hands around to gently push away from him. Hinata backed away a step and sat herself back on to her stool while wiping at her eyes. If Naruto hadn't still been in a bit of a daze over how his stomach still seemed to be doing halfhearted flips and twists, he might have taken the time to ask if she was feeling ok, considering how red her face was at that moment.

"Thank you…Naruto-kun." The softly spoken words snapped Naruto out of his daze.

He scratched at the back of his head nervously. "O-oh, um, it was no problem…hehe…"

Naruto barely caught glance of the subtle upturning of Hinata's lips as she turned to face her previously abandoned ramen. She raised her chopsticks only to have the bowl in front of her whisked away and replaced with a new, freshly steaming bowl. Both Naruto and Hinata looked up in surprise to see the ramen stand's owner standing there with a gentle smile on his face.

"I couldn't possibly allow someone to eat lukewarm ramen at my stand when they've finally found their appetite. Don't worry about payment," Teuchi said, cutting of Hinata's protest before it could begin. "That bowl is on the house. I insist." The man nodded appreciatively at Hinata's whispered 'thank you', before heading to dispose of the bowl of ramen he'd taken. He paused briefly to reach over the counter and ruffle Naruto's hair affectionately.

Naruto protested weakly and blushed in embarrassment before turning back to his own ramen, only to be faced with the reminder that his bowl was practically empty. He sheepishly glanced up at Teuchi who began laughing. "I'll have another bowl ready in a few minutes Naruto-kun."

"Hehe, thanks Teuchi-jiji!" Naruto glanced over at Hinata and was simultaneously happy and dumbfounded to see her attacking her ramen with remarkably dignified gusto. Noodles were disappearing into her mouth at an exceptional rate, yet there wasn't a single splash of spilled soup or dropped topping in sight. Naruto had been eating ramen at Ichiraku's for years and he _still_ had trouble with spills from time to time.

"Hinata!" The young girl jumped in shock at Naruto's excited call and turned to face him with a surprised expression and a bundle of noodles precariously held between her chopsticks and mouth. "You've gotta show me how to eat like that!" Naruto continued.

Hinata simply stared at him with a bemused expression, so confused by Naruto's request that she seemed to have forgotten that she hadn't yet finished the bundle of noodles currently trapped between the grip of her chopsticks and mouth. The sound of Ayame's laughter drew Naruto's attention.

"Hey! What're you laughin' at?" Naruto asked, which only seemed to make Ayame laugh harder.

From there on out the conversation drifted in no direction in particular, jumping from topic to topic about as quickly as Naruto's mind could change course. Hinata didn't actually do much talking, but Naruto was starting to realize that that was just a part of who she was. He wasn't quite sure if she was just super-duper shy, or simply didn't like talking all that much, but it wasn't because she was weird, and it _definitely _wasn't because she disliked him. Even discounting everything else that had happened, Hinata seemed far too interested in what he was saying for it to be that last one.

That in and of itself was a lot nicer than he'd expected. Even Iruka and the Hokage seemed to get bored if he rambled on long enough, but Hinata seemed to be interested no matter what he was saying. It reminded him of how irritated at himself he was for spending so much time practically screaming for attention that he'd drowned out the quiet voice of someone who seemed more than happy to be his friend.

Naruto pushed that line of thought aside so that he could refocus his attention on attempting to obtain the secret to Hinata's speedy and clean method of eating ramen.

* * *

><p>"It's the moments like these that I wish I'd cherished more."<p>

* * *

><p>Across the street from the ramen stand Hinata and Naruto were eating at, Kurenai stood watching. She'd arrived on the scene, ready to offer Hinata an out if she'd managed to misread the situation from earlier, and had been just in time to hear the beginning of the girl's self-deprecating rant.<p>

What followed had left the jōnin in a state of mild shock. For a boy who seemed to have all the social grace of a rampaging bull, he'd shown a surprisingly keen perception for cutting right to the heart of Hinata's issues. Near the end of his speech, the pieces clicked and Kurenai began to understand why it was this boy in particular that Hinata had chosen to look up to. He was brash, loud and seemed to know next to nothing about proper social graces. His academic record was abysmal and his reputation around the village was better left unsaid. It wasn't unlikely that he had shared more than his fair share of verbal and emotional abuse, not only from the adults, but also from the children who had learned by example to treat him as an outcast.

Somehow, despite that abuse, he hadn't broken. The evidence of his struggles was visible in his mannerisms and general track record, but Naruto could still smile. He could still stand tall. He shouted his determination from the rooftops. He _refused_ to give up. Despite the cruel hand life had dealt him, he seemed to live an overwhelmingly vivid and expressive life.

It was those qualities that seemed to have drawn the attention and admiration of the young, broken girl that currently sat by his side, and that admiration certainly seemed to be paying dividends at that moment. Kurenai couldn't remember a single time she'd seen as wide a range of positive emotion expressed on Hinata's face in the week the girl had been under her tutelage.

Kurenai was thrust from her thoughts as she felt a slight disturbance that signaled someone's arrival just to the left of where she was standing.

A few seconds passed before the new arrival spoke. "It's reassuring to see someone his age who seems to genuinely care about him."

Kurenai turned her gaze away from Hinata and Naruto to Kakashi, surprised by the open sincerity in his voice.

"He deserves so much better than the hand life dealt him," the man continued. For a moment Kurenai contemplated Kakashi's choice of words. She understood that as a student of the Yondaime, Kakashi might have felt some degree of attachment to the young orphan the Kyūbi had been sealed into, but the way the man was speaking suggested that there was something more to it. There was something missing, a key piece of information that Kurenai didn't have ahold of that left her unable to put together the big picture.

She turned her gaze back towards the two genin across the street, deigning not to voice her thoughts as she responded to Kakashi's statement. "There are many who do." She saw the affirmative tilt of his head out of corner of her eye.

There was a brief period of companionable silence as the two jōnin continued to watch their genin interact.

"You have to make them strong Kurenai," Kakashi said, breaking the silence.

Kurenai turned a wry expression towards the man. "That's a given Kakashi. Every jōnin instructor tries to make sure their genin are-"

"No Kurenai," she was frozen by the edge to Kakashi's voice, "you have to make them _strong_."

"What are you getting at Kakashi?" she asked, frowning at the man's insistence.

"There are unknown forces out there that might try and reenact a tragedy they failed to complete years ago," he answered cryptically.

Kurenai's eyes widened at the implications. There were only two great tragedies in recent memory that had to do with Konoha, and there wasn't anything unknown about who had committed the atrocity that had been the Uchiha Massacre. "You learned something recently." It wasn't a question.

"A whole bunch of somethings really," Kakashi quipped back in an infuriatingly flippant manner, "and I can't tell you a one of them!"

"Then why risk saying anything at all?" Kurenai grit her teeth in frustration as her blood ran cold. S-Rank secrets, as in _plural _because genius-boy Kakashi could never do anything by halves or even wholes, were not something you just casually referenced in conversation, even if you were being frustratingly vague. The execution orders on revealing them weren't just empty words.

"Because," and the man's voice was back to serious, "when I see that girl look at him I'm almost reminded of the shinobi I've watched throw themselves in the line of fire for the sake of their loved ones. Because I get the horrible feeling that we won't have the luxury of keeping them out of the fight the way our predecessors attempted to keep us out of it that night."

She clenched her fists in an attempt to reign herself in. If she'd had any doubts that he was implying that the Kyūbi's attack had been orchestrated by a third party, then his implying that Naruto would be the target had erased them. "Exactly how strong are these so called unknown forces Kakashi? Can you tell me that much?" She knew that she'd regret asking that question, assuming he could and would answer it, but she needed to know what he was telling her to prepare for.

"Theoretically, they'd be strong enough to survive fighting a kage and then retreat from the scene without leaving any evidence of who they were."

_'Damn him! DAMN HIM TO HELL!' _Kurenai barely managed to avoid completely losing her composure. It didn't take a genius to realize that the Kage Kakashi was talking about was the Yondaime, a man known for being one of the single most efficiently lethal shinobi of his time. She'd seen the man in action shortly after he'd gained his moniker as the Yellow Flash near the end of the Third Shinobi World War. The speed with which she'd watched him dismantle an entire enemy squad of shinobi, using the legendary Flying Thunder God Jutsu and a handful of custom order kunai was something that even most kage level shinobi would find near impossible to replicate. To suggest that someone had done battle with that man and had managed to get away without leaving a trace was to suggest that said interloper was an absolute monster in their own right.

She hadn't even been a jōnin for a year yet, dammit! She'd been anxious enough when she learned who her genin team was going to be, and now she was being told she might have to prepare her team for possibly encountering a kage level threat because of their potential connections to Konoha's jinchūriki. This wasn't what she had signed up for when she'd gone for her jōnin promotion. This wasn't what any jōnin signed up for!

"Suppose I take you seriously Kakashi," Kurenai began. "If this person was strong enough to cause that tragedy _and _survive a fight with a young, healthy kage, why haven't they made another attempt to obtain their target?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Kakashi quipped back at her. "And isn't that just terrifying?"

Kurenai didn't have a response for that, so she chose another line of attack. "Why are you so certain that they'll have no choice but to be involved?"

"Because this generation of rookies is the future of Konoha, and his dream is to be the lynchpin that holds them all together."

Kurenai frowned. "You really think he has what it takes to become Hokage? It's not uncommon knowledge that he practically flunked out of the Academy, and his reputation speaks for itself," she said. Once again she got the feeling that she was missing a vital piece of information, with Kakashi seemingly so adamant that Naruto would rise to the occasion.

"Isn't it interesting then, that he taught himself the Shadow Clone Jutsu in only a few hours," Kakashi said.

Kurenai didn't bother trying to maintain her composure this time. "He what?" she asked, blatant disbelief clear in her voice and expression.

"Yep," Kakashi said. "And then he summoned a hundred or so of them and beat the traitor black and blue only a bit after he'd learned it." Kurenai barely avoided gaping at that. Only a handful of people had been debriefed on what exactly had happened between Iruka, Naruto and the traitor on that night a few weeks ago, and she hadn't been one of them. Now that she thought of it, she'd foolishly given little to no thought about the boy's earlier declaration that he could perform the jutsu, nor to how he would have gone about learning it.

"Besides," Kakashi continued. "Assuming I'm even partially correct about what I'm insinuating, he'll probably need to have what it takes if he wants to survive long enough to have an actual chance at the hat."

Kurenai took a moment to _really_ observe Kakashi. She couldn't say she knew the man very well and her social circles only just brushed against his because of her newly budding relationship with Asuma. However, it didn't take an intimate knowledge of the man before her to recognize that he was _far_ too tense for a jōnin watching over one of his genin in their home village.

"You're terrified," she stated.

The eye smile Kakashi gave her was so fake that any lingering, misplaced hope Kurenai had had that the man was simply screwing with her was shattered. "Didn't I say as much just a bit ago?" he asked in a too pleasant tone.

She looked back at the genin who were animatedly chatting about one topic or another while enjoying their ramen. "Jōnin aren't expected to try and turn their genin into super soldiers."

"But we are expected to give them the tools necessary to survive."

"And if they burn out?" she retorted, not hiding the bitterness that seeped into her voice.

"Then we'll have failed in our duty."

Kurenai clenched her fists, holding back any other sign of her frustration with sheer willpower. When she felt the slippery feel of blood trickling through her fingers, she took a moment to compose herself. "…they're only children," she murmured halfheartedly.

Kakashi sighed. "We asked them to stop being children the moment we handed them their hitaite. Isn't it better that we give them the tools to survive to their physical adulthood, rather than leave them their naivety and be forced to bring their bodies back home one day?"

There wasn't really anything Kurenai could say in response to that, so she simply continued to gaze upon the two children currently eating side by side, intent on letting them enjoy what moments they could grab.

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><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in exhaustion as he turned away from his crystal ball. He hated having to manipulate Kakashi the way he had, but it had been the simplest way to motivate the man into ramping up his training schedule and forcing the man to push past his own personal demons. Not that anything he'd told the man was a lie. He'd simply given the young man enough information to spur him into preemptively breaking down a few of his self-erected walls.<p>

Normally it wasn't standard practice for jōnin to give their genin any kind of specialized teaching unless they were considering nominating them for the Chūnin Exams, but unique circumstances called for non-standard responses.

The old man glanced over at the pile of ash that had only recently been a heavily encrypted message from the only student of his that still remained in contact with him. They had been words straight from the mouth of the ancient toad sage, Gamamaru, and Hiruzen's only wish was that the ancient toad had been less frustratingly cryptic.

Certain references were easy enough to guess their meaning. He had little doubt as to who the 'Fox' was, and the references to the Sage of Six Paths, while shocking, were clear enough. He also had his theories on who certain referenced figures might be, such as the 'Children of the Man Wrought Twice Upon the World'.

Other titles left him confused and reeling for answers. Who in the world were the 'Nine Children of the Sage'? Even more pressing was the convoluted chain of manipulation and betrayal that seemed to involve a 'Puppet God', a 'Shattered Idealist', a 'False Messiah' and the 'Rabbit on the Moon and its Scion'.

For the first time in decades, Hiruzen felt as though he was little more than a lowly pawn on a shogi board, incapable of discerning the larger picture. A picture that he was beginning to worry showed the scene of a conflict that would make the past three wars look like little more than tantrums thrown by selfish children who hadn't gotten their way.

"I wonder if these old bones of mine will last long enough to see that day come," the old man murmured to himself. Left unsaid was whether or not he truly wanted them to.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: So this took a lot longer to get written than I thought it would, and I can only partly blame it on the fact that I moved to an apartment with my sister recently. Ah well, what will be will be. I'll try to avoid taking 3-4 months for the next chapter, but no promises.<strong>

**Fun Fact, I'd originally had Kakashi appearing to Kurenai's right, but soon decided that he'd probably appear to her left because he keeps his left eye covered and such. On the other hand, I think I would have been fine having him stand at the right side of Gai or Yamato/Tenzō.**

**So I said I'd have some more action in this chapter in my last update (it WILL happen next chapter), but then it didn't happen because this chapter went and did a thing with Kakashi learning a bunch of secrets and getting the motivation to get his ass in gear. I won't say the man was a bad teacher in canon since we didn't actually get to see much of how/what he taught because of the time skip of at least a month or two between Wave and the Chūnin Exams, but he seemed to be pretty content to let Team 7 advance at their own pace unless shit hit the fan (Teaching Sasuke Chidori+getting him fast to face Gaara, and thinking up a fast track training program for Naruto's Wind Release training when the Akatsuki started to look like an even bigger threat then they already were after Asuma's death).**

**A lot of people give the man shit for being a shitty teacher, but he got his ass in gear when he learned there was a direct threat to a member of his team's safety. The only reason he never gave Sakura this treatment was because she never had a psychopath/terrorist organization specifically gunning for her head and by the time he might have thought to do so because she was getting herself involved in the Akatsuki threat because of Naruto, she'd become the prodigal student of one of the Sannin and he probably figured Tsunade could prepare her just as well if not better than he ever could. (Not to mention that it might have been seen as incredibly disrespectful to try to give Sakura specialized training by that point because it could imply he didn't have faith in Tsunade's/THE HOKAGE'S ability to train her pupil)**

**Other than that the whole Hinata thing happened. I'll be frank, the only reason Hinata's not on the main character list is because there are only 4 slots and I don't want to plant any preconceptions/make people think this is a fic with a focus on shipping. Not to say that shipping won't play a notable part of it because it will, but I mostly want to explore the repercussions of Naruto pseudo-time travelling, as well as the effects of time travelling being attempted at all (Some of you may have caught onto some of the hints I've left about the latter statement already). If I could include as many characters in the heading as I wanted I'd have to add Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Spoiler, Spoiler, Spoiler, etc. So, since Naruto was the main focal point of everything changing I simply left Naruto as the only character in the character slot.**

**So is Naruto more mature/socially aware than he was in canon? Hmm, I'd measure it at a very hesitant 'sort of but not really'. Negative Emotions Sensing gives him a shortcut so to speak, but that doesn't mean that he's batting a hundred for his reactions. The ****_echoes _****can help give him the context he has difficulty parsing out due to his less than stellar/complete lack of an upbringing, but they're sort of there in the moment and then not there. He knows that he saw/heard/knew something, but what exactly that was can slip away rather quickly once the moment has passed so the effect tends not to last beyond the moment it's in relation to.**

**Posted 9/9/15**


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